


Divine Destiny

by AquilaTempestas



Series: Mark of a Legend [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Novelisation of HeartGold, Pokemon Battles, Redemption, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25494568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquilaTempestas/pseuds/AquilaTempestas
Summary: Three years have passed since Team Rocket fell apart, but now they have returned under the leadership of a new ruler. While evil spreads, a young female called Lyra commences her journey and is destined to become the region’s saviour, but it’s not a path without obstacles.
Relationships: Kotone | Lyra/Wataru | Lance
Series: Mark of a Legend [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846867
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Prologue

Edward Blackthorn sat in the middle of the shrine with his legs crossed, hands resting on his lap, back facing the dragon idol. Every day he would visit the shrine at the break of dawn to receive a vision before their clan symbol, a mighty golden dragon. Only by kneeling before the dragon head was he able to see a glimpse into the future. His visions had given him the title of the Elder of the Blackthorn Clan, and he was revered by the people across the region.

But not all people held his visions in high regard. 

High-ranking dragon tamers from the neighbouring regions mocked his visions, claiming they were simply figments of imagination from an old man’s tired mind. They wanted him removed from his seat of power, wanting to turn the Dragon Den into a political place instead. It was rumoured the other clans wanted to use Blackthorn City as place to educate trainers about the path to becoming a dragon master. Naturally, the people of Blackthorn City were displeased with the news – bringing in tamers from other regions would only create trouble and would eventually lead to a sense of loss identity. He suspected there was a deeper reasoning behind their logic – there was always a sinister motive behind politics - though he could not imagine what it could be.

Despite the problems with foreign clans, it was not the reason behind his stress. 

His main cause of stress had actually come from his own grandchildren, Clair and Lance. Both his grandchildren held positions of great power however they had not yet developed the maturity to fully understand what their positions entailed. For Clair, being the final gym leader meant abusing her power and flaunting her status, and for Lance that meant engaging in reckless behaviour. Edward had lost count of how many times Lance had strayed from the noble path, in his pursuit of power. He was constantly searching for a way to prove he was fit to be Champion, but had yet to find the right path. Edward hoped to steer him in the right direction before it was too late.

“Haven’t I already proved myself? I’m the final gym leader before the league,” Clair said, sapphire eyes narrowed in anger, fingers curled into fists hanging down at her sides.  
“You have not proved your worth, Clair,” Edward said, giving the Blackthorn gym leader a stern look. “I do not deny your power, but you have yet to learn what it truly means to be a gym leader and a true dragon master of Blackthorn. You will continue to carry out your tasks until you have shown me you have the wisdom of our ancestors.”

The gym leader pouted. Folding her arms across her chest, she threw Edward a dark look, brows knotted in anger. “Why should I remain here in this city waiting for a worthy trainer to arrive when I could be helping you? I know the other clan leaders are giving you trouble – I could pay each one a visit and destroy them with my Kingdra. That’ll teach them a lesson not to mess with the Blackthorn Clan,” she protested.

Edward shook his head. “And what will that achieve, Clair? Challenging the clan leaders will only create more trouble and give them a stronger reason why the education centre is needed here in this city. They already believe us to be an arrogant, unruly lot. Do you want to add ‘violent’ to that description?”

Clair huffed. “You don’t think I’m strong enough to take them on. Well, you’re wrong. I’m the strongest trainer in the region!” she wailed, flipping her long sapphire blue ponytail over her right shoulder. She turned to her cousin for support. “Tell him, Lance! Tell him how strong I am! Tell him how I crushed the last challenger with ease!”

Stifling a yawn, Lance shrugged. “The battle was over before it even had a chance to get interesting,” he said in a tired voice. While Clair was known for her overly aggressive manner to the public, Lance was known for being direct and blunt. He spoke his mind with little disregard for the thoughts and feelings of those around him, believing only his word mattered. Becoming Champion had given the boy a self-inflated sense of importance. “You should let Clair have a chance to prove herself worthy, grandfather. You know, she’s almost as good as I am.” He grinned.

Edward shook his head again. “Clair has yet to pass the test.” Turning away from Lance, he faced Clair, a disproving expression on his face. “You cannot claim to be a dragon master of Blackthorn City until you have passed the test. You know the law.”

Her eyes widened, bottom lip curled. Edward knew what was coming next; an infamous Clair tantrum. Clair restored to screaming, yelling, stomping her feet and crying to get things her way, but that would not sway him. “I am worthy! I will prove it to you!” She spun around on her heel and stormed out of the shrine’s entrance, black cape flapping behind her. 

Lance watched her leave then rolled his head towards his grandfather. “Do you really think that is wise? You are only inviting her to seek out danger. You can’t keep her trapped forever. She’s going to find a way to become involved in all of this. I say you should just free her from her leash and let her run wild,” he said, arms folded over his chest, dark eyes fixed on the man. 

Edward was less than amused by Lance’s response. He slowly picked himself up from the ground, dusted his robes, and limped over to the table. “These are dangerous times we are living in Lance,” he started, glancing down at the sheets of paper lying on the surface. Pointing at the table, he brought Lance’s attention to the first of the three papers then looked at him. “What do you see?”

Each of the sheets had an image drawn on it. The first was of an injured Slowpoke, the second of a pirate hat and the third had a picture of a young female with pigtails. Lance raised an eyebrow and looked at his grandfather. “I see a Slowpoke, a pirate hat and a girl who looks like she belongs on a farm. More visions of yours, I assume?” He laughed as if it were a grand joke.

Edward nodded. “Yes. Reports of injured Slowpoke are making the news each week, and the pirate hat wearing people are linked to it. These people belong to Team Rocket. You and I both know this cannot continue.”

“Team Rocket were defeated three years ago. Giovanni disbanded them, and went into hiding,” Lance pointed out, frowning. “If Team Rocket had returned, then someone would’ve said something. I have eyes across both Johto and Kanto, and not one gym leader has mentioned sightings of any suspicious activity.”

“They’ve returned. I have seen it.”

“Then I will search the Slowpoke Well myself, and see it with my own eyes. You can’t rely on these visions, grandfather. Perhaps in your old age, your abilities have waned.” He turned around and prepared to head towards the exit, but Edward grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Do not be a fool. You may have earned the title of a dragon master, but this is a fight you cannot win alone.”

Jerking his arm back, Lance glowered. “Have you forgotten who I am? I’m Lance, the Champion of Johto and Kanto. Unlike Clair, I am the strongest trainer in the region. I passed your stupid test. You say Team Rocket has returned. Who better than I to ensure they are stopped?” he challenged.

“You are a fool if you believe you are the strongest trainer in the region,” his grandfather replied calmly. “There is always going to be someone stronger than you – you just haven’t met them yet.”

A muscle jerked in Lance’s jaw. “You talk to me as if I were nothing but a child!” He drew a deep breath in, holding back his temper then said, “I can stop Team Rocket.”

Edward felt his heart sink. It was moments such as these he wished that both his daughter and her sister were still alive so they could guide their children in the right direction. Lance was maturing into a young adult, but he was becoming too much like his father, and that bode ill consequences for the clan and his own future should he continue to follow that path. He wished Lance had taken after his mother instead. Unfortunately, tragic events had happened which claimed the lives of two young women who had died before their time. “And you talk to me as if you are my superior,” he replied, his voice low, commanding. “You are the Champion, but you do not have power over me.” Lance grumbled. “I am trying to help you, Lance.”

Although Clair expressed her opinions in an abrasive manner, she always followed orders (after throwing a tantrum of course). On the other hand, Lance was convinced that he knew better than everyone else and often did things his way just because he thought it was right. “Help me?” he scoffed. “You’re trying to hold me back from reaching my full potential!”

“I’m trying to guide you in the right direction. Your arrogance will be your downfall if you are not careful,” he snapped. “Even a Champion can fall.” 

The original Champion Blue had lost his title after boasting to everyone how he could never lose. The boy, the grandson of the infamous Professor Oak, had lost to an inexperienced child called Red. Red claimed the throne, but retired only after a month of service, giving the title to Lance instead. His current whereabouts were unknown, but there was a rumour he was living on the peak of Mount Silver. That was something he hadn’t seen in a vision yet.

“You should have a little more faith, grandfather.”

“You will not be the one to defeat Team Rocket,” the man said curtly.

Lance snorted. “Let me guess, the girl in your vision will be the one to defeat them?” He tried to make it sound like a sarcastic joke, but he had failed to conceal the edge in his tone. Lance didn’t like the thought of anyone else being better than him; it’s why he made sure the current elite four members had no type-advantage against him, to stop comparisons being made by the public.

With a sigh, Edward lowered himself to his chair, hands gripping the edges of the table to maintain balance. In his old age simple actions such as sitting down had become difficult tasks, but his mind was still as sharp as it had been many long years ago. “Her name is Lyra. She is the girl on the paper. She will be the one to defeat Team Rocket and claim the throne as Champion.”

Lance scowled. “Tell me more about this… ‘Lyra’.” He spat her name as if she was something foul.

“She is a fourteen year old teenager from New Bark Town with no family trainer history. She is a late starter to the world of pokémon.”

Lance gave a curt laugh. “You are expecting someone with no experience to defeat Team Rocket and myself?””

“Red defeated Blue. Do I need to remind you Red came from a small hometown?” He paused, allowing his words to sink in, knowing any mention of the name would remind Lance how not all Champions came from high-status backgrounds. “You may have passed the test, but you do not truly understand it.”

“You insult me.”

“You did not earn the title of Champion the way one normally should, Lance. Red gave it to you. There is a difference.”

The smirk on Lance’s face faded. He didn’t like being reminded of that. It was a well-kept secret that only his grandfather knew. Everyone else, including Clair, thought he had defeated Red to earn the title and that’s why Red had resigned. The truth? Red turned down Lance’s proposal for a battle. He simply handed the title over to Lance claiming ‘he wasn’t interested in fancy titles anyway’. “I’m strong enough now to defeat Red.”

Edward ignored Lance’s previous comment regarding Red. “If there is any part of you that still respects me you will listen to my words. Please keep an eye on this girl and do your best to protect her without revealing your true identity until the right moment comes. This is all I ask of you.”

“I have better things to do than watch a rookie trainer.” Lance headed towards the exit.

“Aren’t you just a little curious to learn more about Lyra?” Edward called out. Lance stopped. “Do you wish to share the same fate?”

Lance rolled his head back towards his grandfather. “So you’re threatening me?” 

He saw defiance in his eyes, and was reminded of his own son, Jacob, who too had challenged his visions. He didn’t want the same fate of banishment to fall upon Lance. “I know what is best for you.”

“Right, because you’ve ‘seen’ visions of the future,” he said curtly.

“My visions have not lied to me, Lance. If you are going to listen to me just once, now is the time. Protect Lyra.” Lance shifted his gaze to the door. He could see the impatience in the boy’s posture and knew he had little time left to persuade his grandson to do the right thing. Many people wished they had his ability, but if they could see how they were going to die, they would think otherwise. His visions were both a blessing and a curse. 

Lance considered it then nodded. “Fine,” he snapped. “I’ll keep an eye on her, but don’t expect me to do anything else for you.” He stormed out of the shrine in silence, the sounds of his footsteps echoing throughout the den. 

Edward closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled, reopening his eyes again. Lance doubted his visions, but one day he would come to fully appreciate the lessons his grandfather had taught him.


	2. First Steps

# First Steps

Sunlight poured through the open windowsill, splashing out across her bed. She kicked off her bedsheets, and bolted upright, stretching her arms above her head. Today marked the beginning of her journey. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and skipped over to her window and pushed it open. She stuck her head out and drew in a deep breath, breathing in the earthly scent of nature.

All night she had been kept awake with dreams of pokémon. She pictured herself running through grassy fields, climbing rugged mountains, crossing the rough waters, and exploring dark caves, capturing all sorts of pokémon. She closed her window then headed to her dressing cabinet, grabbing her clothing from the rack. She quickly changed into fresh clothes, donning a long-sleeved deep pink shirt and a pair of denim overalls. Her light-brown hair was tied up in pigtails supported by pink hair ties. Knee-high white socks and closed black shoes finished her look. Appearance meant little to her – looks were not an indication of skills. Before she left the room, she grabbed her white beret from the doorknock then headed downstairs.

“Sweetie, your breakfast is ready!” Her mum called from the kitchen

Their home was a small one, but she could never imagine living in a bigger household. Pink and red roses painted on a yellow background covered the walls, giving an earthly feel to the place. She moved to the kitchen and planted herself down in the chair across from her mother. Before her, a plate of raisin toast and some eggs. She devoured her breakfast.

“Good morning!” she chirped.

Her mother, a young woman in late thirties with honey-brown hair and warm brown eyes, smiled down at her, drying her hands on her apron. “My little girl has all grown up! I can’t believe you are setting off on your journey today…” There was a smile on her face, but Lyra noticed her eyes shimmering with tears and felt saddened. She’d be leaving for her journey today and Arceus knows when she would return.

“I’m going to perfectly fine. I’ll have my pokémon with me,” Lyra answered, standing up from her chair. She walked to her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist. This would be her last night in the comfort of her home for a long time.

Her mother rubbed a hand through her daughter’s hair, stroking it tenderly. “If only your father could see you now… he would be so proud of his little girl.” She sniffed again, wiping a tear drop from her face using the back palm of her hand.

Five years had passed since her father’s death. He had attempted to climb Mt Silver when a freak accident occurred, causing a tonne of rocks to come crashing down on his head. His pokémon had tried to save his life, but they had perished under the weight of the rock. Lyra pulled back from her mother, biting her lower lip to prevent it from quivering. She had to be strong. “Ethan is going to pick me up and take me over to the lab,” she said.

“Do you know which pokémon you are going to choose?”

Lyra nodded. “Totodile, for sure.” Totodile, the water-type. Chikorita, the grass-type. Or Cyndaquil, the fire-type. All were powerful, but the element of water appealed to her senses the most. The water element reminded her of the waves crashing against the shoreline near her home. It was soothing to listen to and brought her great sense of peace just be watching the waves. Besides, Totodile was cutest of the three available starters.

“I can’t wait to see your companion!” Her mother gushed.

Their tender mother-and-daughter moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. “That must be Ethan,” Lyra said. She darted her eyes around the room searching for her belongings, only then realizing that in her excitement, she had forgotten to pack last night. Fortunately, her mother came to her rescue.

“I’ve already prepared for your journey, sweetie. I’ll be waiting for you here! You should probably go now. You don’t want to keep the professor waiting!” She bent down and gave her daughter another hug, then ushered Lyra out of the house.

Her childhood friend, Ethan, also a fellow pokémon trainer, waited outside. He greeted her warmly, tipping his black and yellow cap downwards, strands of black hair peeking out from beneath. Despite the heat, he was wearing a red sweatshirt, and brown pants. A small, round blue pokémon with a white belly was standing beside him. It was a Marill, and he had received the pokémon from his father a year ago as a gift for graduating from trainer’s school with top marks. “Morning, Lyra.”

“Morning, Ethan!”

Ethan smiled at her warmly. “I’m sure you’re excited about starting your journey, so let’s not waste time. The professor’s waiting, come on!”

New Bark Town was a small place, and as its name suggested, was built near a forest. The homes lacked heating equipment and therefore had to use firewood to keep their houses warm during the winter months. Basic supplies such as food and water could be purchased from Cherrygrove City which was located about a kilometre away to the east. A part of her felt sad to be leaving, but to spend another year here in this tiny town with little to do but dream wasn’t all that appealing.

There were only two other houses in the town. Ethan lived in a two-storey house with a yellow roof, and the other house was occupied by their friendly neighbour, Belinda. Her son, Joey, had recently left on his journey and Lyra knew it wouldn’t be long before she encountered him, although she hoped not to since they hadn’t parted on good terms. Up ahead, she spotted the lab. It was easily identifiable since it was the only building with a picket fence around it, designed to keep wild pokémon from entering.

Lyra had been there several times before to learn about pokémon in the foyer, but this would be her first time stepping into the lab part itself. She was giddy with excitement. It was hard not to race ahead. Ethan led the way inside the building, and she was immediately greeted by cool air coming from the southern ocean. She spotted the professor standing beside a round desk with a glass dome. A smile broke out on his face the moment his eyes locked with hers.

“Lyra, it’s a pleasure to be the one to give you your first pokémon!” He stuck out his hand and Lyra accepted it. “Which one would you like to choose? The male Totodile, the female Cyndaquil or the male Chikorita? Take your time – this is an important decision,” he explained, gesturing to the dome.

Lyra’s response was immediate. “Totodile!” she blurted, causing a soft laugh to leave the man’s mouth.

“It seems you have given this a lot of thought already.” He pushed a red button, which brought the glass dome down temporarily. He picked up the ball containing the Totodile and gave it to Lyra. “Say hello to your new friend, Lyra. I’m sure he will serve you well in the journey to come.”

As soon as her hands touched the item, the pokéball glowed. Shocked, she dropped it. The pokéball opened, a column of white light burst from the ball, temporarily blinding all present. When the light faded, her newly acquired Totodile stood before her, giving her a happy grin. “I’m so sorry,” Lyra blurted, falling to her knees. She embraced her new friend. “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

If the Totodile had suffered any form of pain, he did a good job of not showing it. Totodile’s scales were cool to her touch, but surprisingly smooth. His teeth were still quite small, yet they were fully capable of inflicting serious harm if someone accidentally put their fingers too close. “Are you going to give your friend a nickname?” Professor Elm said.

“I shall call him Toto.” Not the most original name around, but it would do. Toto wagged his tail and grinned, showing his satisfaction for the name. “He likes it.”

While Lyra stroked Toto on his head, the professor explained all she needed to know about being a trainer. “I’m sure you already know about the basics of being a trainer, but I thought I should provide you a summary of notes just so you are aware of what awaits you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vertical rectangular blue object and handed it to Lyra. “That is a pokédex. It is used to recording data on any pokémon you come across. It can also store information about your pokémon. To access its full features, you’ll need to insert your ID card to register the device.”

Lyra took the object and cradled it, ensuring not to drop it this time like she had with the pokéball. “Sounds simple enough.”

“The full list of a pokémon’s moves can be viewed on your device. When you are ready to update your pokémon’s moves, you can simply press your pokéball against your pokédex and two screens will appear. The current moves your pokémon knows will be shown on the left, while the moves your pokémon can learn that are available to be purchased for a fee, are shown on the right. To purchase a move, you’ll have to scan your trainer ID card,” he explained. “Although, some moves are free if your pokémon can learn that move naturally. You can also visit a nurse at the pokémon centre to update your moves with the machines there.”

How pokémon learned moves was a real mystery to her. It was something scientists were still looking into, but not a lot of progress had been made. Evolution was also another mystery that boggled even the greatest of minds. Lyra cared little for science – she was more concerned with raising pokémon than worrying about their biology. “What else should I know?”

Professor Elm looked skywards, stroking his chin thoughtfully then looked back down again. “Pokémon grow stronger with each battle. The more battles you fight and win, the stronger your pokémon will become. You want a strong team to contest the Indigo League, so I suggest fighting every trainer that steps on your path.”

Lyra lifted a brow. She had heard of the Indigo League before, but never investigated it further. She didn’t know the names of the trainers, she didn’t know who the Champion was, and she never cared to either. Her neighbours had discussed it before, and they had mentioned Indigo League was home to the most arrogant of trainers in the region. They didn’t sound like people she wanted to meet. “I don’t know if I want to take on the league challenge.”

The professor frowned. “Don’t be silly, Lyra. Of course, you want to take on the league challenge. I know it sounds intimidating, but I know you can do it with Toto at your side.” He grinned down at Lyra’s companion. “Your first stop should be at Cherrygrove City. I want you to drop by Mr. Pokémon’s house to pick up something for me,” he said. He grabbed a piece of paper, then scribbled something down on and handed it to Lyra. “This is my number. Don’t worry about giving me yours – your mother already gave it to me.”

Ethan smiled. “Before you leave, you should say goodbye to your mum. See you soon, Lyra!” Her friend said his goodbyes and Lyra nodded. She left the building with Toto following close behind. As her mother had promised, she was waiting for Lyra at the entrance of their house. She was there now holding a small pink shoulder bag.

“I’ve packed the standard items a pokémon trainer needs for their journey,” her mother explained, handing the bag to her daughter. The standard items were the trainer’s guidebook, her phone, her bank card, a bottle of water and a protective case for a pokédex. There was also a cream-coloured pokébelt used for keeping her pokéballs secured safely around her waist.

Lyra took it and slung it over her shoulder. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Would you like me to look after your money?”

She nodded. “You know you don’t have to ask. Of course, you can.” She remembered Ethan telling her about the money system in the pokémon world. When a trainer lost a battle, they were expected to give ten percent of their current earnings to the victor. It was wise to keep half her earnings with her mother for worst case scenarios. If she lost a battle, she’d have to hand over ten percent of her current earnings to the victor. Carrying around stash loads of cash wasn’t a smart idea. What if the bag got stolen? Or worse, what if she lost all her money against difficult trainers?

Her mother leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead then pulled back, smiling proudly. “Go and get them, sweetie!” She took a step back and waved.

Lyra headed back to the lab where she found a strange boy with shoulder-length deep red hair, looking into the window, muttering. She had never seen him before and wondered what he was doing here. She thought about approaching him but decided against it. Besides, she had other things to do than make friends with this stranger. Pushing thoughts of the stranger aside, Lyra continued her way to Route 29. Ethan was already waiting for her.

“I’m going to show you how to catch some pokémon,” he said, walking towards a grassy patch. “You basically just wonder around until a pokémon jumps out. A battle will commence and it’s your job to weaken the wild pokémon until it can barely move. That’s when you throw the ball. To improve your chances of catching the wild pokémon, make sure you inflict it with some status condition. Ooh, there’s a pokémon!”

Lyra stood on the edge of the grass patch and watched as a pidgey lunged at Ethan’s Marill. Marill used a bubble attack and the pidgey countered with a tackle, but it did little damage. Marill attacked again, causing the pidgey to fall over. The pidgey was still conscious but weakened. The perfect moment to throw a pokéball. Ethan hurled a ball at the pidgey. A beam of red light hit the bird turning into nothing but air. The light returned and the ball rocked back and forth until it stopped moving. Pidgey had been captured.

“Oh, that’s how it works.”

“The stronger the pokémon is, the more resistant it is to being caught. You’ll need better pokéballs to improve your catch rate,” Ethan added, picking up the pokéball. The one he was holding was the standard red and white one. “I wish I could accompany you on your journey, but you and I walk different paths.”

Lyra nodded. Ethan was more interested in completing the pokédex, rather than becoming the next champion. The world of pokémon opened many doors for trainers. Some opted to become scientists and researchers, others wanted to teach young people about the world of pokémon. Some made it their life’s mission to breed and raise pokémon while others specialised in nursing the injured back to good health. It didn’t matter what decision a trainer made – not one career choice was better than the other.

Lyra, on the other hand, just wanted to see how far she could go, but the professor believed she could become the Champion. She wasn’t convinced, but if the professor thought she had a chance then she might as well try. “I guess this is goodbye… for now,” she said, giving her friend a brief hug. She pulled back and looked past the grassy patch. Cherrygrove City was only a short walk away. Grinning, she took her first step into the patch of grass. She was now one step closer to fulfilling her dreams.

The path to Cherrygrove was a safe one. There were a couple of wild pokémon to contend with, but they seemed weaker than Toto. Despite having only received her pokémon, Toto already seemed eager to battle. Sometimes her companion would run into the grass to fight and Lyra had to run after him and pick him up. Fighting wild pokémon to become stronger wasn’t a bad idea, but not every battle had to be fought otherwise she’d never reach the league.

She was still heading towards Cherrygrove City, making her way through grassy patches, when she received a phone call. Answering the phone, she was surprised to hear the professor’s anxious voice on the other end. “Please come back, Lyra! Something terrible has happened!” He hung up on the phone and Lyra felt her heart race.

What had happened? She hurried back towards home as fast as her legs could carry her. The professor had sounded awfully stressed and Lyra hoped he had not been hurt. She had almost reached town when her eyes rested on the red-headed male she had seen earlier looking in through the window. He moved to block her path, lips twisted into a maniacal sneer, dark eyes burning with hate. Lyra stepped back, unsure.

He took a couple of steps towards her and lifted his arm, pointing a finger in her direction. “I just stole this pokémon and you’re going to be my first victim! You should be honoured.” He hurled his pokéball out onto the ground. A chikorita emerged from the light. So, the male had conveniently stolen a pokémon that had a type-advantage against hers. That explained why he had been looking through the window earlier. “Take this weakling down, Chikorita!”

Toto jumped in front of Lyra, eager to defend his master. Lyra glanced down, met Toto’s eyes, and nodded. She looked back at the red-headed male. “Stealing pokémon is wrong. Toto, use Scratch!” She had always assumed her first battle would be against Joey, not a bullying thief. Totodile lunged at the opponent and scratched at its face. Chikorita cried with pain.

The red-headed male hissed. “I chose you because I thought you were powerful!” he whined. “Get up you fuckin’ useless pokémon!” he screamed, pointing an accusing finger at his wounded chikorita.

She winced at his colourful choice of words. “Why are you so cruel to your pokémon?”

His eyes met hers. “Why are you so nice to yours? Pokémon are tools, not friends! Chikorita, use Tackle!” Chikorita lunged forward, smashing his sturdy body into Toto’s own. Toto stumbled backwards, but fortunately regained his composure quickly. “You’re doing rather well for someone weak.”

Lyra flinched. “Toto, use Scratch again!” Lyra ordered. Scratch was the only move Toto knew now, but Lyra knew in a few levels time, Toto was able to learn a water attack. Lunging forward, Toto swiped a claw, slashing the chikorita in the face. A whine escaped the pokémon’s throat. He attempted to fight back, but the short battle had drained him of energy. He flopped to the ground.

The red-headed male swore, giving his pokémon a hard kick in the sides. “Hmph. I let you win that round. I was testing you. Next time, the real battle begins, and I will crush you. I’ll crush everyone who gets in my way.” He retrieved his weakened chikorita and ran away.

During his escape, the boy had dropped his trainer card. Lyra went over to pick it up and found the name, ‘Silver’ at the top. She pulled her eyes away, looking in the direction the boy had taken. “I will never lose to someone like you.” Pocketing the card, she turned around and headed back towards her hometown, noticing the window to the lab had been smashed to pieces. The professor was standing nearby, a little shaken, but appeared to be unharmed. “What’s the problem, professor?” Lyra said, jogging over to the lab. She spotted a policeman standing next to the professor.

The officer turned to face Lyra, looking at her with suspicion. “It’s said the criminal will always return to the crime spot… did you steal the chikorita?” His eyes fell on Lyra’s totodile.

“What? No way. Professor Elm gave it to me this morning,” she defended.

The professor nodded. “It’s true. The totodile was my gift to her.”

The policeman relaxed. “I’m sorry I accused you, it’s just there have been many strange happenings occurring recently. The police in Hoenn are still recovering from the effects of Team Magma and Team Aqua’s plans and I hear that in Sinnoh they’re having trouble with spacemen. We must be careful. Do you know who might have done this?”

Her thoughts moved to the red-headed male she had just defeated in battle. “There was this guy with long red hair looking through the window earlier... I fought him recently actually. His name is Silver.”

The professor shook his head. “The poor chikorita…” He turned to face Lyra. “Never mistreat your pokémon, Lyra.”

“Of course, professor.” The professor gave his statement to the policeman and Lyra followed him inside to provide more details about the thief. After an in-depth discussion, the policeman left, promising to bring the boy to justice.

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. What a day it had been. Totodile had been at her side for less than two hours and already she had defeated her first trainer. Unfortunately, the kid hadn’t given her any money, so she was still broke. Would she cross paths with trainers like Silver? She hoped not. The types of trainers she could possibly face weren’t her only worry though – she had to start thinking about what pokémon to use on her journey to contest the league. She healed Totodile using Elm’s computer, then headed back outside to continue her journey.


	3. Meaninful Lessons

New Bark Town was the most obvious place to visit first since that’s where the professor’s lab was. Trainers generally received their first pokémon from the man if they didn’t already have one of their own. It was a quaint town, and a little too dull for his liking, but his grandfather had made him curious, and that’s why he was here now. The match had been an interesting, if not, a somewhat painful battle to watch.

Lance was currently crouched behind a couple of bushes, peering through the parted branches, studying the scene before him. The red-headed boy was a pathetic individual. He talked tough, but he didn’t have the skills to back it up. The girl Lyra, however, had managed to defeat the boy despite not looking anywhere near as confident as the boy had.

For a trainer who had just received her first pokémon, she had done well to obtain a victory. “It was just beginner’s luck,” Lance told himself, pulling away from the bushes, figuring he had enough of spying for the day. He turned to his dragonite, an imposing hard-muscled dragon, who was standing behind a thick oak tree. “What do you say we teach that chump a lesson?” His grandfather had made him come all this way down so he might as well have some fun while he was here.

The dragon nodded, beating his wings causing grains of dirt to fly up around them. Dragonite shared his master’s eagerness to fight and was eager to teach that chump a lesson. He chose to stay off the main road, not wanting to run into any trainers. He was the Champion of the region and if he were seen casually walking around, he’d attract attention from unwanted people, namely his annoying fangirls who worshipped him. He knew he was great, but the constant squealing and desire to touch him, was annoying and slightly creepy. Fangirls weren’t the only problem he was faced with.

He was a popular trainer, but like all famous people, he had his fair share of haters. His fellow elite four members didn’t hold him in high regard, accusing him of being selfish, and the gym leaders’ feelings towards him were anything but warm and friendly. Some people even claimed he did not deserve the title of Champion because he hadn’t achieved the legendary deeds Red had. Fans of Red claimed Lance was simply keeping the seat warm until the one true Champion returned.

But Lance knew Red wasn’t returning – he didn’t even know where the trainer was, and if he even cared about battling anymore. There was a rumour the legendary trainer had retreated to the peak of Mt Silver, but Lance wasn’t sure if this was true or false. Mt Silver was said to be an extremely dangerous place, defended well by powerful wild pokémon and unpredictable weather conditions. He had never heard of a trainer who had conquered Mt Silver in his lifetime. The door to the mountain was accessible to him, but he saw no need to risk climbing up it. Red had probably left the region to find a place somewhere quiet.

Three years ago, Red had claimed the title for himself. Instead of upholding the Champion’s oath to protect the region, Red had chosen to surrender the title, giving it to Lance without a fight. Lance had tried to challenge him for the title since it was the right thing to do, but Red had refused. The trainer explained his reasons in a letter, stating Lance would never defeat him in battle because he was single-minded and that his methods of battling were ‘rough’.

Naturally, Lance disagreed – a team was only as strong as their master. If the trainer was a weak-minded fool, then the team too would be weak. So what if his battling methods were a little on the rough side? As long as he won, he didn’t care. He might have lost to Blue, but he had only been sixteen at the time. Now he was nineteen and far stronger than he had been three years ago. There was no trainer in Johto or Kanto that could match him in power and skill.

So, he didn’t have much to worry about.

“There he is, Dragonite.” Dragonite growled, prompting Lance to smirk. “Let’s go and teach him a lesson.”

Silver dropped to his knees and bowed his head before slamming a fist into the ground beneath him. He punched the earth several times over until his knuckles began to hurt. He was a loser. A goddamn loser. He couldn’t even beat a rookie trainer. A rookie female trainer. A tear threatened to spill from his eyes, but he managed to fight them back. Tears were for the weak. He punched the ground again. Pain. Pain brought relief. It distracted the mind temporarily from other thoughts.

“I will not lose again,” he spat, speaking through clenched teeth. “I am strong. I just need more power.”

He glanced over to his pokémon. Chikorita was wobbling, struggling able to stand on his four legs. His partner looked at him with pitiful eyes and Silver felt an overwhelming surge of anger pour through him. Weak. Useless pokémon. Just like him. A loser. His father had often called him that after beating him down with his fists. No. He tightened his jaw, hands clutching at the grass blades on the ground. The girl had gotten lucky, that’s all. Lady’s luck… or whatever the hell it was called. Next time he was going to crush her. Defeating the girl would have to wait - Chikorita needed to be healed, otherwise he wouldn’t survive.

He picked up his useless partner and headed towards the nearest pokémon centre, carefully avoiding other trainers. They were everywhere – and they would all be crushed by his hand as soon as Chikorita was healed, then he could focus his efforts on beating that girl. Yes, that was a sound plan. He arrived at the pokémon centre, stepped inside, and hurried over to the counter. The nurse, a young lady with a deep shade of pink hair, smiled at him as he approached the bench.

“Hello, and welcome to the pokémon centre. We restored your tired pokémon to full health. Would you like to rest your pokémon?”

Of course, he did. Why else would he come to a pokémon centre? _Stupid girl,_ he thought. He placed Chikorita on the table. “Yes,” he snarled.

The woman jumped, taken aback by the sudden harshness in his tone. She gently took Chikorita, placing him in the miracle healing box, and pressed a big white button. Within a few seconds, Chikorita had been restored to full health. She gave him his pokémon back. “Thank you for waiting. We’ve restored your pokémon to full health. We hope to see you again!” she smiled at him again, displaying her brilliant row of straight, white teeth.

How many times did that woman say that a day? He didn’t say a thank you and simply grabbed Chikorita and exited the building. Now where to go next? He had spotted a few weak looking trainers on Route 29, so that was probably a good place to start. Chikorita walked right by his side until Silver glared down at it. Chikorita cowered and took a few steps back until Silver nodded, satisfied. Pokémon were not friends. They were tools, nothing more. Only the soft-hearted and weak-minded made friends with pokémon.

Not too far up ahead, he spotted a young male wearing blue shorts and a yellow shirt. There were dirt stains on his clothes and Silver noticed he wore his cap backwards. Typical signs of a try-hard. Silver strode towards him, head tilted forward. The kid looked at him, smirking. He reached out his hand and pointed a finger at Silver. “You’re going down, chump!”

Chump? Silver glared. The kid was asking for a brutal beating. “Destroy him, Chikorita!” Eager to impress the master, Chikorita leapt forward with newfound confidence, staring down the opposing trainer.

“A chikorita. How cute. Did your mummy get that for you?” the boy teased, throwing out his own pokéball. A purple male rodent appeared from the white light. The rat, which Silver recognized as a rattata, hissed at Chikorita. “Rattata, use Tackle!” The rodent obeyed and leapt forward with surprising speed. Chikorita managed to avoid the attack by jumping to the right.

“Crush him! Use Tackle!”

Lowering his head, Chikorita charged at the rattata, then threw his entire weight against the smaller rodent. Rattata stumbled backwards, flinching from the hard hit. He tried to regain his composure, but Silver’s Chikorita was too quick. Chikorita tackled again and this time it was enough to knock cause the rodent to faint.

“Oh no, my poor rattata!” the boy exclaimed.

Silver snorted. “Looks like you are the chump.” The battle had made Chikorita stronger. There was now a confident gleam in the creature’s eyes. Chikorita pounced on the boy and nipped him on the arm, prompting the stupid to cry out in pain. Silver snickered. Perhaps Chikorita wasn’t that useless after all. The boy cried and kicked his feet at the dirt. As if that would drive him off. Stupid chump. Silver held out his hand. “You know the rules. Give me my battle earnings or I’ll be sending you to hospital.” The boy nodded, handing Silver a few crumpled notes.

He cast the kid another hateful glance, then pocketed the notes and headed in the direction of Route 30 which was past Cherrygrove City. There was no point in spending more time with cry-babies, and besides, Chikorita had become too strong for this area. He left the weeping boy behind and ventured towards his new destination when another trainer stepped in front of his path. This trainer didn’t look like the others he had seen; he was tall, dressed all in black and wore a funny-looking cape with a red underside. A horror show reject? What a freak.

“Get out of my way unless you want to be crushed as well,” Silver threatened.

The taller male arched a brow. “You talk tough for a weakling.” He smirked. “That’s right. I saw that battle you had with that goofy girl with the pigtails.”

Silver growled. “Get him, Chikorita!” Chikorita nodded, standing in front of its trainer. The other guy didn’t seem to have a pokémon. At least, not from what Silver could see. That thought quickly faded from his mind when a large shadow appeared over the ground before him. Arching his neck back, he spotted a rather intimidating dragon coming into land. What in the name of Arceus?

The dragon landed beside the cape guy, throwing a glare in Silver’s direction. Chikorita seemed so small in comparison to this mighty pokémon. “I saw how you battled earlier. All the trash talk? You should drop it. Talking tough makes you look even weaker than you are. Try being nice for once – your pokémon might actually become strong.”

“Love? Love is weak. There can be no love in war,” Silver retorted.

“Pokémon are not tools.”

Silver flared his nostrils, spitting at the ground before his feet. “Shut up! Stop trying to lecture me! You don’t know a goddamn thing about me! I don’t care who you are, but you will not stand in my way! Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!” Chikorita looked reluctant, but he did as commanded and hurled leaves at the dragon. The leaves simply bounded off the dragon’s belly who scratched its stomach, as if the leaves had left an itch.

“Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!”

Opening its mouth wide, the dragon conjured a glowing ball of light. Once the shape had been fully created, the dragonite threw its head forward, causing a beam of white light to exit its mouth. The beam did not hit Chikorita or Silver but struck at the space next to him. It was enough to throw Silver off his feet. He fell backwards and hit the ground, wincing as his head smacked the earth. Pain raced through his body.

The amused smirk on his opponent’s face had faded. “You will never succeed in anything while your heart is filled with hatred and bitterness.”

Silver clawed at the dirt, cringing as another wave of pain came over him. He rolled over onto his stomach and glanced up. “You think… you understand me… you don’t know anything…” Forcing himself up from the ground, he spat out a few grains of soil, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Drawing his hand away, he spotted flecks of blood then licked his bottom lip, tasting the salty flavour of blood. “You don’t know me. You don’t know me at all!”

This time, the dragonite did not attack. The dragon simply stood at his master’s side death glaring Silver, although Silver knew it would attack again if his trainer gave the command. Judging by the powerful blast from before, Silver was pretty convinced it would be eager to show its power off again. This trainer was strong. Too strong for him now. But one day that would change.

“If I find you harassing that girl again, I will not hesitate to come after you.”

Silver spat at the ground, wincing as another wave of pain rushed through his body. He forced himself to his feet, to defend his honour, but the tamer had already disappeared.

For the past two hours, Lyra busied herself by testing out Toto’s latest move – Water Gun – on a few poor pidgeys in the grass patches on Route 29. She continued knocking out pidgeys until Toto had mastered the move. Once Toto had, Lyra focused her efforts on catching a female pidgey. Her first foray into the world of capturing pokémon had been a success. Now she had a team of two pokémon, but she knew she needed a team of six to stand any chance of beating the league. But who to choose? There were so many pokémon she wanted to train. Ice-type. Electric-type. Fire-type. And even the dragon-type.

“Think smart, Lyra,” she told herself. “What did your father always say? Train a diverse team to cover your weaknesses.” She thought hard. How many special attackers would she need? Or was it better to focus on defence instead? Perhaps it would be smarter to focus her on special defence training? Maybe speed and health? There were so many ways to train her team to make the most of them, but what was the right path to take?

“Well, Totodile is a water-type, so that means I should probably get a fire-type and a grass-type too. That leaves me with three remaining spots. Electric, psychic and dragon? Or maybe dark, steel and ground?” She looked down at Toto for answers but received only a toothy grin in reply. She giggled, patting her friend on her head. “You’re right. I’ll think about my team later.” She continued to walk along the dusty path until she came across a male with blue shorts. He looked strangely familiar… those dirt-stained shoes, the backwards cap, the smirk…

“Not weak… I’m not…”

“Joey?” she replied. Joey looked at her. She noticed his eyes were red. Had he been crying? “Are you all right?” She moved towards him, but he stepped back, holding his arms out in defence.

He wiped the tears off his face. “We have to battle, Lyra. Don’t walk away from me, I want to fight. I’m not going to lose this time. Go, Rattata!”

Lyra summoned Pidgey. “I’ll try to give you a fair fight. Pidgey, use Sand Attack!” Pidgey turned her back to the rodent and kicked at the ground, flicking grains of sand in Rattata’s face. Temporarily blinded by the sand, the rattata was unable to aim accurately. It attacked but missed by a couple of inches. “Now use Tackle!” Pidgey crooned, flapped her wings, and took a running leap at the purple rat.

Rattata could do nothing to defend itself as Pidgey knocked the rat over onto the ground. It struggled to escape, but the bird was too quick. Pidgey tackled the rat again, successfully knocking it out cold. Joey dropped to his knees jaw dropped open. “I lost again…”

Lyra wasn’t too keen on Joey – the guy had always been an impatient, impulsive brat who seemed incapable of learning from his past mistakes, but he had come from her town, so she had some respect for him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Joey.”

He looked up at her. “I can’t seem to win battles.”

“You should allow your partner to gain more experience before challenging other trainers to battles, Joey. How do you expect to win if your pokémon is unsure of itself?” Rattata was lying on his side, eyes rolled back in his head. “Rattata is your partner. It’s your responsibility to make sure you treat your pokémon with love and care.” She reached down into her bag and gave Joey a potion her mother had packed. “Take this. It’ll help.”

Joey took the potion, flabbergasted. “You’re willing to give me this after everything we’ve been through? If I remember correctly, I used to tease you when we were little.”

She gave him a smile. “That’s in the past. Let me know when you’re ready for a rematch,” she said, showing him her trainer card so he could write down her number. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m running an errand for Professor Elm.” Before she could leave, Joey grabbed her arm.

“You’re not just running an errand though, are you? You’re setting out on the journey to become the best…” He tightened his grasp. “Make our town proud, Lyra! If anyone deserves to be Champion, it’s you. I know you can do it.”

She smiled again. Maybe Joey had changed a little. The old Joey would never have shown his appreciation for another trainer… or any person for that matter. “Thanks, Joey. Good luck!” She said her farewells and continued walking down the path. She spotted to other trainers but decided to avoid them by going through the forest. Toto and Pidgey hadn’t had a rest yet and they were both starting to show signs of exhaustion.

Cherrygrove was just up ahead. The city was twice the size of her hometown and was well-known for its beautiful cherry blossoms. It was autumn in Johto, and the trees had shed their leaves, but in a couple of months they would blossom, and the city would look beautiful once again. She made her way down the path heading towards the pokémon centre when she was approached by a bald old man with thick grey eyebrows. He was dressed in old-fashioned clothing, except for his shoes which seemed brand new. How odd. He looked her up and down then smiled.

“You’re new here, aren’t you? Well, let me do you the honour of showing you around the place,” he said. She was already aware of what the buildings were, but for the sake of not appearing rude she pretended to be clueless. The old man ran towards a building with a blue roof. For an old guy he certainly could run fast. She jogged after him. “This is the pokémart. Come here if you need supplies for your journey.” He then ran to a building with a red roof. “This is the pokémon centre. You and your pokémon can rest here. Always make sure to heal your pokémon after a few battles - they’ll appreciate you more.” He ran away to stop in front of a shabby old brown building.

“What place is this?” Lyra said.

“This is my place. It’s time for my rest.”

She put on a polite smile. What a strange old man.

“You can have my running shoes. They’re still warm,” he said flatly.

Lyra took a step back and raised her hands. “Uh, I think I’ll pass…”

A wide grin spread across his face. “I’m kidding! I got a free pair of running shoes for you, so take them!” He dashed inside his house and returned a few seconds later with a pair of white sneakers. “You don’t need to thank me! Achieve your goals, young trainer! Best of luck to you.” He waved then disappeared inside leaving a dumbfounded Lyra.

“Wow, that was weird,” she said to Toto and Pidgey. Both her pokémon looked like they were going to drop dead. Seeing their exhaustion made her feel tired as well. She stifled a yawn, placed the shoes in her bag and headed towards the pokémon centre.

Exiting the pokémon centre, Lyra was overwhelmed by immense heat. The sun rays were shining directly in her face, blinding her temporarily. She held her arms up to shield her eyes and wandered forward, stopping every so often to wipe away sweat beads from her forehead. Heatwaves like this didn’t happen very often in this part of the region, but sometimes they did, and they could be unrelenting.

The heat dampened her mood and she noticed Pidgey seemed to be struggling. The bird looked lethargic. To protect Pidgey, she returned her back to her pokéball. She tried to do the same with Toto but the water-type crocodile pokémon wanted to play instead. Toto aimed a stream of water at Lyra, knocking her off her feet from the force.

Instead of losing her temper, Lyra giggled. “You sure know how to cool things down quickly, don’t you, Toto?” she laughed, patting her pokémon’s head. Toto wagged his tail and cuddled up against Lyra. “I would love to continue playing, but we have to visit Mr. Pokémon,” she said, picking herself up from the now wet ground. She shook herself dry then continued moving, her faithful companion tagging along behind her. Route 30 was her next destination.

Lyra didn’t cover a lot of ground when she was stopped by some bald adult male dressed in a white shirt and green pants standing outside his house underneath a tree. His eyes rested on her for a few brief moments then he rushed over to her, an excited gleam in his eyes. “Ah yes, you are perfect!”

Lyra wasn’t sure what to say, so she just smiled. “Uh, hello?”

“I want you to have something!” Before Lyra could say anymore, the man darted into his house then reappeared with a small brown box. He thrust the item into her arms and explained it. “It’s an apricot box! Here, you can have this apricot.” He turned to the tree and pointed up, directing Lyra’s attention. “That’s an apricot. They come in different colours. Collect all the apricots you can, and you’ll find someone in Azalea Town who can turn them into special pokéballs!”

“Okay… thanks,” Lyra said, placing the box into her bag. Did all starting out trainers receive such significant attention from non-trainers or was she a special case? It was all a little overwhelming. She hadn’t even earned her first badge yet and people were already giving her gifts, as if she were some household superstar, or the Champion herself. “Um, is this the right way to Mr. Pokémon’s house?”

He nodded. “Yup. Keep heading north. You can’t miss it. There’s only one path there.”

She thanked him again and continued her way. She noticed several grass patches up ahead but spotted no pokémon in sight. Perhaps the heat had driven them off? She was a little disappointed because it meant her pokémon wouldn’t gather any experience battling, but there was always tomorrow.

She spotted Mr. Pokémon’s house up ahead and sighed with relief. It was hot now and all she wanted to do was sit inside and catch her breath for a few moments. A cold drink would be nice too. She entered. It was a nice comfortable place with two floors. There were photo frames of various pokémon on the walls and a torn leather couch in the centre of the room. An analogue television was set up against a wall. She studied the screen for a few moments, watching a group of pokémon sprinting down a racetrack.

Lyra pulled her attention away and called for Mr. Pokémon’s name. A few moments later, a middle-aged man with rosy cheeks came rushing, almost tumbling down the stairs. He glanced at her, face lighting up. “Ah, you must be Lyra! Professor Elm said you would be arriving soon. I have something to give to you and I know you will look after it well.”

This was the third person, excluding Professor Elm, to give her something special. She felt like she was the chosen one for being showered with gifts and praise, and she hadn’t even done anything notable yet. “What do you have for me?”

“It’s around here somewhere… ah, there it is.” He hurried over to a couch and picked up a basket. In the basket there was an egg. He picked it up carefully, cradling it in his eyes and walked over to Lyra. “This is a pokémon egg. I would like to look after it. Eggs only hatch when they are with other pokémon you see.” He handed it over and Lyra took it. Where was she going to put the egg? Would it fit in her bag? She couldn’t hold it the entire time. “You’ll have to carry it. Don’t worry it’ll only take a couple of days for the egg to hatch. The more kilometres you walk, the faster the egg will hatch. Sometimes it helps to run back and forth for a while.”

An excuse to do some additional exercise, she thought. She wondered what type of pokémon was in that egg. “Thank you, Mr. Pokémon.” She was about to exit the house when he called her name again.

“Don’t go anywhere yet – Professor Oak is dropping by. While you wait, why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get you something cold to drink.”

Lyra nodded. She sat down on the leather couch and made herself comfortable, while her Toto sat on the floor. As soon as Mr. Pokémon returned with a cold orange juice, Professor Oak entered the place. Lyra sat up immediately in awe. She had heard a lot about this man on the radio. This was the same man who started Red on his journey. Red was like her – a rookie trainer from a small town – and he had gone on to become a legendary trainer. Was she walking down a similar path to greatness? Or would her path take her down a different route?

“Lyra, it’s a real pleasure to meet you. You know, I started Red on his journey two years ago,” he said, giving Lyra a handshake. His hands were calloused, but his handshake was surprisingly gentle. “I know you will make Professor Elm and your hometown proud,” he said, smiling. “Before you venture any further, I want to give you a pokédex.”

“Oh, I already have one of those,” Lyra said, pulling out her own. “Professor Elm gave me one.”

Professor Oak put it back in his bag and nodded. “If you ever need a new one be sure to give me a call. A trainer mustn’t go anywhere without one.” He smiled again.

“Okay, sure.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Go out into the world, achieve your dreams, and fill the pokédex as best as you can! When you are done, show it to me and I’ll give you a special gift. Good luck, Lyra!” He waved.

“Don’t forget to take your cold drink, Lyra. It’s hot outside,” Mr. Pokémon said, giving her the plastic cup.

She accepted it and took a sip, feeling refreshed immediately. It was amazing what a cold drink could do on a hot day like this. It was just as effective as a nice massage. She said her goodbyes, exited the house and continued her journey, her Toto following close behind. “I should probably go back and visit Professor Elm and show him the egg… but I’m keen to progress further. What should I do, Toto?” She glanced down.

The pokémon gave her a toothy grin then hobbled over to the marker which read Route 31. Lyra smiled. “I thought as much. You are just as keen as me to venture further, aren’t you? I’ll call the professor later and tell him the good news.” Toto jumped from leg to leg in what Lyra interpreted as a happy dance. Together, they made their way to the next route.


	4. The Bleeding

Archer pinned the struggling slowpoke mother to the ground, then climbed on her back to stop the creature from thrashing wildly. He had to give the worthless animal some form of credit – she was determined to fight him, but her strength was fading fast. “What a worthless pokémon these slowpokes are,” he commented, bringing his head down besides the slowpoke’s torn right ear. “But never fear. Your death will not go wasted.”

“Would you like to have the tail removed now, Archer?”

Archer turned his head to the right, facing an aqua-haired man, wearing an expression of hunger on his face. The man had an insatiable appetite when it came to inflicting harm on others and pokémon. He had a natural talent for crafting weapons of cruelty and pain. It was for that reason alone Archer promoted him to the rank of commander. “Yes, chop it off.”

“With pleasure, Archer!”

Archer glanced behind him as the man raised his rusted cleaver above the slowpoke’s tail. The tail moved back and forth then paused. That’s when Proton brought his cleaver crashing down, slicing off the tail immediately eliciting a mournful cry of pain to exit the slowpoke’s mouth. “Ariana, collect as much as blood as possible,” Archer said, turning to his only female friend.

If Proton was the torturer and executioner, then Ariana was the one who issued the death sentence. She lacked the physical strength to carry out the gruelling tasks, but she could convince others to do the work for her just with words. Once she had even convinced a trainer to kill himself after defeating his team.

She nodded, pulling out a glass vial from her pocket. Crawling over to the wounded animal, she lowered the vial to the pool of blood around the slowpoke and scooped up as much of the sticky liquid until it was full. She tucked it back in her pocket and rose to her knees, dusting herself clean of the sand grains that clung to her clothes. “We can’t stay here for long, Archer. The local gym leader might come by and then we’ll be in trouble.”

Archer nodded. “Get what we need. I will see both of you back at the base.”

“Yes, Archer,” the two commanders chorused.

“Remember do not feel any remorse for your actions here today. We serve Giovanni, the one true ruler, and our actions are done in his name.”

“Hail Giovanni!” Proton and Ariana chorused.

Archer crawled of the slowpoke and kicked her in the ribs, forcing the dying animal to cough up some blood. “It’s a shame Pretel is missing out – he would’ve loved to have been here today.” Pretel was the final commander and the youngest of the group. He had just turned twenty-five the other week, but already he was exhibiting signs of a true leader. He helped Archer recruit members and he devised strategies to capture pokémon.

“Where is Petrel, anyway?” Proton said, dipping a hand into the blood, moving his hand around until it was covered in it. He raised the hand to his mouth then stuck out his tongue, running it along the side, lapping up the blood. “It’s not actually that bad. It’s kinda sweet.”

Archer pulled his eyes away, turning back to Ariana. “I’ve given him a task to carry out at the Goldenrod Radio Tower. He has a task involving messing with the radio transmitters to brainwash the minds of pokémon through sound,” Archer answered.

Ariana glanced down at the slowpoke. “I’ll take this tail back as souvenir then. I’m sure he’d love that,” she said, twirling a lock of red hair around a finger. Archer nodded. She picked up the stub, brought it to her lips and kissed it. “He’s going to love it. He’ll probably attach it to his wall of pokémon tails. So anyway, what do you plan to do with all the blood we’ve collected?”

“We’re going to sell it the shops, disguising it as an energy drink for pokémon. We’ll say it’s a drink that temporarily gives pokémon a boost, but it’s a toxin that weakens pokémon overtime.” His smirk widened. “It’ll make us rich enough to pay out Giovanni’s captors so he can be released.”

“What if those snobs from the league sniff us out? You know Lance won’t hesitate to destroy us when he finds us.”

“Do not worry about the Champion. He believes he is stronger than us, but he can’t close down all our operations.”

“Maybe I should stay behind and distract him if he decides to pay us a visit,” Ariana said. “We haven’t collected all the tails yet.” Proton nodded.

Archer considered it. There were still a few slowpoke tails to collect. More tails meant more profit, and he could always do with more money. “All right. Both of you can stay here then. I’ll return to our headquarters.” Archer didn’t like turning away from a fight, but as Giovanni once said, it was important to live to fight another day.

“What are you going to do, boss?” Ariana said.

“I’m going to help you throw the league brats off our trail.”

He didn’t explain it further, and his executives didn’t ask for further details. He knew what he had to do, and it involved making a secret trip to the Dragon Den shrine in Blackthorn City. Ushering his companions out of the cave, he led them to a secret opening in Azalea Forest. He hoped their actions here today would bring them one step closer to freeing Giovanni, and one step closer to defeating Red, the man solely responsible for driving Giovanni away.

“I will free you, Giovanni.”

Lance stormed into the entrance of the shrine, slamming the door behind him. His journey back to Blackthorn City hadn’t been a fun one. The sun had been shining on the southern side of Johto, but the northern half was covered in rain. Now he was cold, soaking wet and mad. Dragonite stood at his side, looking equally as frustrated as his master. Heading into the main area, he expected to see his grandfather, but instead spotted his cousin. His mood dampened.

She arched a brow, giving him a mocking questioning look. “Your girlfriend called,” she said, giving Lance a teasing smile. She sauntered over, dangling a pink letter in between her fingers of her left hand.

To Lance’s annoyance, there was a big love heart on the front of it. It could mean only one thing – Marina was at it again. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He snarled. That damn girl just would not give up. Just the mere mention of her name sent a shudder down his spine.

Clair opened the envelope and read the letter. The sheet of paper was also pink. “Dear Lance. You haven’t replied to any of my letters and I was worried they might have gotten lost, so I’m sending you another one. You are the best and hottest trainer in the world, and I’d be honoured if you would watch my performance this coming weekend if you aren’t too busy. Please let me know so I can make the arrangements. Your biggest fan, love Marina.” Clair threw her head back and laughed. She continued to laugh until tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s not funny,” Lance scowled. He tried to swipe it from Clair’s hands, but she stepped back.

“It is funny! She is so in love with you.” Clair started laughing again, wiping tears from her eyes. “The trash out the back is full of letters from her.” She glanced back down at the letter again, her finger running down the paper. “This is my favourite line. You are the best and hottest trainer in the world! Someone needs to get their eyes checked.”

“Shouldn’t you be at the gym?” Lance replied, desperately trying to change the topic from his love life to something else.

“Changing the topic? Well, your love life is non-existent.” She then snorted. “I’ve finished for the day. There’s no one worthy enough to challenge me. I’m the best dragon master in the world.”

Lance glared. “Correction. You’re the _second_ -best dragon master in the world, or have you forgotten about your dear old cousin?”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Fine. Second best. What’s put you in such a foul mood anyway?”

Holding back his temper, he took in a deep breath. This was typical Clair behaviour. An argument was what she wanted. He would not be baited. “Where is our grandfather? I need to speak with him.”

She glanced over her shoulder, flipping her long ponytail over her left. “Meditating. I wouldn’t interrupt him. You know how he gets when someone interrupts his personal time. You can tell me though.”

He shook his head. “No, I can’t. This is serious business, Clair. This is not a game.”

Rolling her eyes, Clair sighed. “You are such a bore these days. Ever since you became Champion you’ve been acting like you’ve had a stick up your arse. You used to be fun. Now you’re all Mr. Busines all the time. What are you, a superhero from those lame movies?”

“At least one of us takes our responsibilities seriously,” he retorted, feeling his temper flare.

Her eyes flashed with anger. “I do take my role as a gym leader seriously!”

It was too late to stop the argument now. “I’ve seen you battle, Clair. You taunt your opponents. You claim they are inferior to you… you don’t treat your opponents with respect.” He stared her down, but Clair didn’t even flinch.

Clair kicked the floor spitting at the space before him. “You are the region’s greatest hypocrite. You think you are better than everyone else. You should practice what you preach.”

“I don’t taunt my opponents during the battle unless they deserve it.” It was people like that fool with the chikorita who deserved it. “You’ll always be a gym leader. You’ll never be a Champion.”

“And neither will you, Lance. At least, you’ll never be a true Champion. I earned my position as gym leader. Unlike you, dear cousin,” she sneered, knowing the latter part of her sentence hit home. “Yeah, that’s right. I figured it out. You’re always showing-off, and I figured you were trying to cover up something. Red gave you the title.” She turned on her heel and stormed towards the exit then stopped in front of a photo frame.

“Clair…” he warned.

She looked over her shoulder as if to make sure he was watching closely, then proceeded to remove the frame off the wall. She let it drop and pretended to be upset. “Sorry, my fingers must have slipped,” she said, turning around, to storm out of the shrine.

Lance walked over to the fallen frame, bent down, and turned it over. The photo was of his team and himself receiving the Champion title. He was the youngest of the elite four – most trainers never reached that level until they were in their mid-twenties, but his team of carefully chosen dragon-type (and draconic looking) pokémon had earned him a place.

The photo was, of course, a lie. It had been taken a couple of days after Red had given him the title to prove to the world, he had secretly defeated Red. It was Red’s idea – after all, it was the only way to prove he had earned the title. The frame was broken now. There was a crack running down the middle. Shattered. That’s what the rest of his life would be if the truth ever came out.

He picked up the broken frame and stood up then hurled it across the room, letting it smash against the far wall. Dragonite flinched, seemingly confused, but quickly shook it off. Dragonite looked at him as if asking what to do next? “We’re going back to the Indigo League. From now on, I’m doing things my way.”

He wasn’t going to take advice from Clair, nor was he going to listen to his grandfather’s warnings no more. No one had the authority to tell him what to do. He was the Champion. And that meant more than just being the top trainer. The region was in trouble and it was his responsibility to solve it, no matter what it took.

Lyra’s current route was an uneventful one in battling terms. There was only one trainer and he specialized in bug-types. His team consisted of three caterpies and one weedle. It was hardly worth the effort, but Pidgey and Toto were eager to battle. The grass patches weren’t offering much excitement either. The sun was out, and the temperatures were causing pokémon to seek shelter. Every once and awhile, she’d come across a rattata, but she wanted to save her pokéballs for a pokémon she wanted as part of her final team.

Eventually, she found something that caught her interest. There was a cave up ahead and a signpost right next to the entrance. She hurried over to the sign and read the bold print. “Dark Cave.” She chuckled. “I hope I brought a flashlight.” Opening her bag, she searched around for a torch but found nothing. _Arceus’s breath,_ she cursed. Toto was looking up at her, looking slightly nervous. “Don’t worry, we won’t go too far in,” she assured Toto.

Toto seemed to relax a little and followed Lyra inside the cave. Not surprisingly, the cave was dark. She wouldn’t have been able to see her own hands if it weren’t for the light coming from the entrance. _It would be wise not to stray too far,_ she thought. The darkness was only part of the problem. The thick damp air clung to skin body, making her feel sticky. Disgusting.

With great caution, she walked a few metres north, walking further into the darkness. The further she strayed from the light, the more nervous she felt, so she turned around and quickly came back. Apparently, there were zubat within these caves. Having a bat-like pokémon would be useful in dark places, but how could she catch one if she couldn’t even see?

A frantic fluttering of wings caught her attention. Lyra froze, an icy chill racing down her spine. Suddenly, she was cold, as if the temperate had suddenly switched to the other extreme. Toto growled softly. Lyra dared herself to look up then wished she hadn’t. There! A zubat! It was hanging down from below looking directly at her. Or at least she thought it was. She couldn’t locate any eyes on the bat. The bat bared its fangs. Lyra screamed.

The bat dropped down from the ceiling and dove towards her, its wings beating the air frantically. She threw herself onto the ground, pressing her belly on the cave floor and stopped moving. If she didn’t move, perhaps the bat wouldn’t be able to sense her. “Toto,” she whispered. “Use Water Gun!”

Toto leapt into action, aiming a burst of water at the bat. The bat avoided the attack, hovered in the air, and opened its mouth wide. Lyra frowned, unsure of what was happening. “Use Water Gun again, Toto.” This time Toto didn’t obey. It looked at her with a blank gaze. “Uh, Toto?” she said. Toto turned away and walked around in a circle making soft growling noises. Confused, Lyra pulled out her pokédex and brought up information about Zubat.

_Zubat. While flying, it constantly emits ultrasonic waves from its mouth to check its surroundings._

_Those invisible waves probably confused predators to allow time for the Zubat to escape_ , she concluded. While Toto walked around in circles, Lyra summoned Pidgey. Pidgey’s eyesight was no better than Toto’s in this area, but Pidgey was more agile. “Use Tackle!” Pidgey jumped into the air, flapped her wings to gain some altitude and hurled herself at the zubat. Zubat fell to the cave floor, as Pidgey kept it pinned to the ground.

“Use Tackle again!”

Pidgey jumped off the zubat then charged again. Before the zubat could gain enough height, it was thrown across the floor, this time hard enough to knock it out cold. Lyra heaved a sigh then threw a pokéball at the poor bat. The pokéball rocked to the right, left then the right again before it paused. Three seconds… two seconds… one second… success! Zubat had been caught.

“We did it!” Lyra cheered, standing up from the ground. Pidgey flapped her wings then came down to land, ruffling her feathers, looking quite smug. Toto recovered from his confusion status effect, and the young crocodile looked at Lyra apologetically. “It’s all right, Toto. It’s not your fault.” She picked up the pokéball and attached it to her pokébelt.

Pidgey and Toto ceased their celebration dance. They both froze. Noticing their sudden stance, Lyra too froze. She slowly glanced over her shoulder, squinting into the darkness. More frantic fluttering. A lot of flapping wings followed by a few shrieks before a while colony of zubats emerged from the darkness. No words needed to be said. She made a dash for the entrance. Pidgey and Toto made frightened noises and followed Lyra towards the safety of the sunlight.

She threw herself out of the cave and landed on the grass outside. Pidgey and Toto landed beside her. “That was too close to comfort, I’m not going back in there again without a light next time,” Lyra said, panting, as she rolled over onto her back. She started to laugh. “But it wasn’t a waste. I caught a zubat.” She held her newest companion’s pokéball in the air and smiled. She was halfway in finalizing her team. Her next stop was Violet City.

Slowpoke were dying and the numbers were growing with each passing day. On Monday two had died. On Tuesday, the number had doubled to four deaths. It was now Wednesday, and the neighbours had reported there had been at least another three slowpoke deaths. Bugsy wanted to track down the people responsible for hurting the gentle creatures, but he had to remain at the gym. A gym leader was not allowed to leave on any condition unless specifically said to by the Champion.

Lance hadn’t said a word and so Bugsy remained here in the gym, powerless to do nothing while cruel people murdered more slowpoke. He hadn’t caught a glimpse of the culprit, yet the neighbours had claimed they were wearing black clothes with an ‘R’ letter emblazoned on their jackets. The ‘R’ could only mean one thing. Team Rocket had returned.

“Bugsy, you have to settle down,” Kurt said, trying to calm the bug-type specialist.

“I can’t! I feel I need to do something!” he said, pacing back and forth, legs unable to sit still.

“The Champion is probably on his way now to solve the problem.”

Bugsy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he wants to solve it himself so he can be the hero while the rest of us standby and do nothing.”

Kurt looked at him with impatient eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, I can explore the Slowpoke Well before Lance arrives.”

“But what about your back – you said it’s been giving your problems. I don’t think it would be a smart idea for you to climb down there. It should be me. It should be my responsibility to look after this town and its inhabitants. My bugs can see perfectly fine in dim light and they’ll be able to take on anything,” Bugsy explained, frowning.

Kurt moved to stand at the door’s entrance. “I’m going to head down into the well. I’ve been looking after the slowpoke for over three decades now.”

Bugsy blocked his path, shaking his head. “You are going to go back home and rest. If you fall and break your back again, your granddaughter is going to throw a tantrum.”

“You cannot leave the gym to embark on this quest.”

“Then I’ll find somebody else to head on down. The next trainer who passes through can investigate. If they’ve received the badge from Falkner, they should be strong enough to handle anything down there.”

“Bugsy…”

“I’m the gym leader of Azalea Town, Kurt. You’re going back home even if I have to take you back there myself.” He opened the door and exited the gym, the elderly man following behind him.

Violet City was a large place – larger than her hometown anyway – but she didn’t have much else to compare too. Paths made of grey and brown cobblestones covered what would normally be grass. Buildings all had slanted pointed roofs and fancy shaped doors though she couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind the stylistic design. The city was divided into two sections with a single bridge the only way to pass through. In the distance, she spotted a tall pagoda building with three floors. A nearby signpost read ‘Sprout Tower’.

Lyra walked across the bridge, spotting a group of children standing outside a building accompanied by their mothers. Another signpost read ‘Trainers School’. Some children were fortunate enough to have the basics taught to them, whilst others had to learn them through trial and error. Next to the school was the unmistakable roof of the pokémon centre.

She walked around the city some more and spotted two other routes. One led to Route 32, and the west path led to Route 36. She wasn’t quite sure which path to take yet, but there was no point in thinking about that for the time being. Take on the gym now? Or visit Sprout Tower? Perhaps she ought to explore Route 32 to catch some other pokémon? If she caught another one now, she could use Sprout Tower to train them.

That sounded like the most reasonable plan, but first a trip to the pokémon centre was needed. She went inside and spotted a lady behind the counter who looked awfully familiar to the one in Cherrygrove. Did all the assistants look the same? Weird. Maybe they were twins. She shook her head, walked up to the counter and handed her pokémon over to the nurse. A few minutes passed, and she soon had her team back in her possession.

It was time to head to Route 32 to catch her next pokémon. She walked through the route gate and exited soon afterwards. There was a path of grass to her immediate right and she ventured into it. She couldn’t see any pokémon in the long grass, but Totodile seemed to have caught the scent of something. Following her trusty little sidekick, she soon came across a cute little blue sheep eating grass. She pulled out her pokédex.

_Mareep. If static electricity builds in its body, its fleece doubles in volume. Touching it will shock you._

Mareep sounded like a powerful pokémon to have. An electric-type pokémon would be useful for tackling any water-type pokémon in the future. Besides, it was also adorable. She knew she just had to have it.

“Zubat!”

Zubat popped out of his pokéball and hovered in the air. Lyra was a little unsure if Zubat could function properly during daylight, but the bat seemed to be doing quite fine. “Use Supersonic!” The bat obliged and emitted his confusion attack. Unfortunately, the sheep avoided the attack, moving away to graze on some other grass. “Use Leech Life!” she declared.

A small tiny seed burst from the bat’s mouth, landing on the Mareep’s head. The mareep didn’t even flinch. _Well, that was useless,_ thought Lyra. Zubat’s other move was astonish, but that just seemed to create tears. The mareep was still ignoring her, finding the grass far more fascinating than some zubat and its trainer.

“Sorry, Zubat. Maybe next time.” She recalled Zubat then brought out Pidgey. Flying-types were weak to electrical-types, but she hoped Pidgey’s speed would give her the upper hand. “Pidgey, use Tackle!” Pidgey gained some altitude, then threw her body against the female mareep. Now the sheep was enraged. Tiny electrical bolts radiated from her fleece.

The mareep counter-attacked with a tackle of her own, throwing Pidgey off balance. Pidgey toppled backwards but regained its composure and took to the air again. Lyra ordered her pokémon partner to tackle the sheep again, this tie managing to land a blow on the sheep’s head.“Use Tackle again, Pidgey!”

Pidgey used the same move for a third time causing the mareep to tremble. The sheep was low on energy. It was the right moment to throw a pokéball. Lyra threw a ball. This was her third one – only two pokéballs remained. White light encased the mareep. The ball rocked back and forth. Right. Left. Then right again. The suspense was unnerving. Then… Success! Mareep had been caught!

Only two spots remained on her team. Well, technically it was three because she didn’t plan on taking Pidgey all the way to the end. Only one flying-type was needed and that spot was taken by zubat. Time to head back to the pokémon centre then it was time to take on the Sprout Tower challenge.

Entering the tower was like walking into a graveyard. It was awfully quiet, somewhat chilling yet oddly relaxing. Eerie music played, and Lyra wondered where the sound was coming from. She saw no speakers but suspected there were speakers hiding up in the corners somewhere. At least it was nice and cool inside which was a pleasant change from the heat outside. She spotted an elderly man wearing robes nearby and walked over to introduce herself.

“I’m Lyra, and I’m ready to take on the Sprout Tower challenge!”

The man nodded. “Fight your way through the tower and you’ll earn a prize at the end. Good luck to you. Climb the tower to begin,” he said, pointing to the nearby ladder.

Lyra nodded, placing her hands and feet on the rungs. The ladder creaked under her weight but held firm. She climbed the ladder to the next floor where she was greeted by a sage who looked identical to the one at the entrance. She found a name badge. Sage Nico.

“I will test you and your pokémon.” He summoned his pokémon – a bellsprout.

A plant-type creature with a stick-like body and a bell-shaped head emerged. _What a strange looking plant,_ Lyra thought. She allowed Toto to take the first battle but regretted that immediately when the bellsprout threw some sharp leaves at him. Toto yelped, and squeezed his eyes shut, wincing from the pain. Lyra cursed herself for her moment of stupidity. Water-types were weak against grass-types. She withdrew Toto and summoned Zubat instead. Zubat was still incredibly weak, but she was going to persevere with him. “Use astonish!”

Zubat spluttered tears and dashed forward, scratching its tiny feet at the bellsprout’s odd-shaped head. The bellsprout winced but didn’t seem that affected by it. It countered with another Razor Leaf. _This was going to be a long battle,_ Lyra thought. “Keep using Astonish, Zubat!” The cycle repeated until the bellsprout fainted. Two more bellsprout were summoned. This repeated until the other two fainted. Zubat returned to his pokéball, and Lyra advanced to the next sage named Sage Chow.

Sage Chow, like Sage Nico, used only bellsprout. Three bellsprout to be precise. Again, she used Astonish until all three were defeated. Sage Edmond was next. He too had three bellsprout. _Another one?_ She sighed, growing tired of fighting the same pokémon, though she knew more were to come. Not surprising considering the building was called Sprout Tower.

On the second level she was pleased to note there was only one sage. Sage Jin, a trainer with only one bellsprout. Although this bellsprout seemed a little tougher than the previous ones (it had survived more attacks), Zubat emerged victorious. She carried onto the next level ascending another level then walked down the wooden corridor and turned a corner to find two sages.

The path was straight and guarded by two sages. Sage Neal and Sage Troy. More bellsprouts. Sage Neal had one. Zubat battled hard and gained Lyra another victory, but the bat was beginning to tire now after all these continuous battles. She brought out Pidgey as she faced off against Sage Troy. Once again, she battled a bellsprout. _Surely, this had to be the last one,_ she thought.

The bellsprout fainted. Sage Troy summoned his next one, and Lyra was glad to see it wasn’t another bellsprout. The pokémon was an owl. A one-legged owl to be precise, or at least looked like it had one leg. She pulled out her pokédex.

_Hoot Hoot. It always stands on one foot. It changes feet so fast the movement can rarely be seen._

That explained why it looked like it had one leg. The hoot hoot hit a little harder than the bellsprout, but fortunately Pidgey had received enough training to hold her own ground. Pidgey retaliated, clawing at the ground, to flick pieces of wood into the avian’s eyes. Temporarily blinded, the hoot hoot missed its second attack, giving Pidgey the advantage. It wasn’t long before the hoot hoot fell.

“Well done. Now you may face Elder Li.” The sage bowed allowing Lyra to bypass him to face the Elder Sage.

The man was easy to spot for he was wearing a fancy purple and yellow robe. Standing in front of him was a red-headed boy… Silver. Lyra almost scowled at the sight. What was he doing here?

“I worry about your pokémon. You do not treat your partners kindly.”

“You are too weak! It was hardly worth the effort!” Silver said, sneering. “Give me my prize now, you stupid old man,” he demanded, giving the Elder a hard stare.

The Elder Li sighed and gave the boy what he wanted. Silver snatched the item away and turned around only to find Lyra standing a few feet away. He stormed over, spat at her feet then marched off towards the exit. What in the name of Arceus was that about? She shook her head at Silver’s retreating figure and strode over to the Elder Li.


	5. Wise Words

Lance had returned to the league briefly just to change into something else. The elite four members had tried to grab his attention, but he had ignored them, not wishing to spend a single second longer than necessary. He was now in the Slowpoke Well, just a short trip to the east from Azalea Town. It was breeding season for slowpoke and they often came to the Slowpoke Well in Azalea Town to raise families.

It was the perfect place for them – the well was dimly lit and damp, turning off all but daring trainers away from the well. But Lance hadn’t come here to observe the mating habits of the slowpoke. No, he had come here to find the culprits responsible for the injured slowpoke. What were Team Rocket’s reasons for killing slowpoke? Were they hoping to make some form of profit?

He climbed down the ladder and headed inside the entrance to cave, wrapping his cloak around him. Water fell on his head as he walked in, but he was not worried. Dragonite followed behind his master as they wandered deeper into the cave. He immediately regretted his choice of tight clothing. The air was thick and damp, making his clothing feel so much more uncomfortable. There was sweat in all sorts of place which only added to his discomfort.

Dragonite seemed to enjoy the temperature. That was one negative to being a dragon master – he had to train often in hot weather otherwise his cold-blooded team of pokémon would be dramatically weakened. It was why ice-type moves did so much damage to them. No matter how many times he trained in the hot sun, he never seemed to be able to adapt.

He wiped away a few sweat beads then started to fan himself as they delved deeper yet into the well. A refreshing, but powerful, cool gust of wind blew in from behind, which almost knocked him over. He cursed, then turned around and noticed Dragonite was flapping his wings to keep his master cool. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Dragonite, but there’s no need to do this. I’ll manage.”

Dragonite frowned, not at all convinced, but ceased his flapping. They entered a brighter part of the cave. That was strange. This part was further down, yet the light was stronger here? Before he could investigate further, he heard the moans of slowpoke fill the air. Pained, mournful cries, as if the Slowpoke themselves were singing a slow, sad symphony.

One of the said slowpokes bumped into his leg. Lance looked down and found a pregnant slowpoke gazing up at him. She was barely able to walk, having to drag her round body across the floor. There were purple bruises all over her body and her tail was hanging loosely by a mere flap of skin. A trail of blood stretched across the ground. The slowpoke moaned again, looking at him with pleading eyes.

There was nothing he could do to help the slowpoke. A pit of dread brewed in his stomach, a dark feeling of anger and hate bubbling inside. He hated himself for being so useless. The slowpoke was dying, and nothing could save her. A quick merciful death was all that he could grant her. _Curse the fools who had done this,_ he thought.

“Dragonite…” he started, gazing up at the dragon. “You know what needs to be done.” Dragonite looked at Lance then shook his head. He stepped in front of the dying slowpoke. Lance sighed. “If I could save the slowpoke I would but I can’t, and you know that.”

A few moments of inactivity passed until Dragonite obeyed. With a quick, but powerful, swipe of his claw, Dragonite struck the slowpoke killing it instantly. Lance hated for this to happen. Deformed Slowpoke had no chance of success in the wild and no trainer would want to burden themselves with a wounded one.

“Who dares enters the Slowpoke Well?” a voice called out.

Lance turned around and spotted a man and a woman run up to him. They were both a head shorter than himself and dressed in tight black clothing. There was a large ‘R’ imprinted on their shirts. Team Rocket indeed. His grandfather’s visions had been right. He wondered why they were here now creating trouble, but villains seemed to be attracted to dark places. But why now and how? Hadn’t Red defeated Team Rocket three years ago and shut down their operations?

The woman stepped forward, dark black curls falling around her head. She trained a steely dark gaze on him and pointed a finger. “He’s snooping around. We ought to put him in his place,” the woman sneered, reaching down to grab a pokéball.

Lance didn’t take kindly to threats, especially from a duo of murderous thieves. “Dragonite… teach these fools a lesson they won’t soon forget,” he replied coolly. Dragonite stepped forward, eager to leap into action.

“A dragonite, how cute,” the woman sneered. She reached down to her belt, grabbed a pokéball and threw it a few feet in front of her. A zubat appeared.

Lance snorted. “A zubat? Don’t insult me.”

“Julia! What are you doing?” a sharp female voice snapped from behind. The Team Rocket grunt froze then turned around. A tall slender woman with short red hair stepped in between the two grunts, her eyes narrowed in what appeared to be disgust. She was wearing white clothes. Lance had a feeling it was to indicate rank.

“Ariana!” Julia bowed her head. “He was snooping around. I thought I could stop him.” Her male companion remained silent, bowing his head respectfully. Whoever this woman was, it was obvious she was in status of power.

“Do you not know who this is? Do you honestly expect to win against the Champion, the dragon master, Lance? Get out of here and return to base before I tell our leader about your incompetence,” Ariana snapped, pointing towards the exit. Julia recalled her pokémon and exited the cave with her partner. Once they had left, Ariana turned to Lance. She lifted her hands and smiled. “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it? This is Team Rocket’s handiwork.”

“You are causing the deaths of slowpoke,” Lance snarled. “Cutting off their tails… leaving them here to die… and for what? Money?”

Her grin widened. “I don’t have to tell you anything about our plans. All you need to know is there is nothing you can do to defeat us. We’re back and we’re stronger than ever. Surrender now and we’ll be nice. Refuse, and well… You’ll find out soon enough. What’s it going to be, champion?” she taunted.

He suppressed a growl. “Leave.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. We’re not done here yet,” she jeered, wagging a finger. “But he will be done soon and then we can leave.” She reached down to her belt for a pokéball and threw it out onto the ground. A purple cobra appeared, its forked tongue flicking out of its mouth every few seconds. “Arbok, use Ice Fang!” The snake rushed towards Dragonite, its fangs turning into temporary icicles.

“Dragonite, Dragon Rush!” Lance ordered. Dragonite lowered his head then rushed forward, slamming into the cobra. Unfortunately for Dragonite, the Arbok managed to sink its fangs into the Dragonite’s neck. Dragonite howled, the fangs puncturing through a thin layer of scales. “Hyper Beam!” he commanded, holding his ground.

Dragonite recovered from the attack, and threw the snake off, then hurled a glowing beam in its direction. The snake was thrown across the room. Lance felt a moment of satisfaction. No more Arbok to worry about. But what was this? Ariana was… laughing? He felt a stab of annoyance.

“You sure do like to throw your weight around, don’t you, champion? Another move like that and you’ll bring the whole place down,” she said, arching her neck back to look up at the roof. She was right. He spotted a few stalactites tremble slightly from the ceiling. Another powerful move and they would fall. This was potentially a dangerous situation.

“Fall back, Dragonite,” Lance said. Dragonite looked at him, huffing slightly, but did as obeyed. The dragon folded his wings against his back and waited patiently for his next command. “Why are you doing this?”

A sombre expression took hold of her face. “To restore our pride. The former champion ruined us… he destroyed everything we worked hard for… now it’s time for our revenge.” A smirk took hold of her features, giving the lady an almost maniacal appearance. “But you’re not a true champion. As some say, you’re just keeping the seat warm for the rightful champion to arrive. You will never defeat us no matter how hard you try.”

He stepped forward jaw clenched. It was one thing to hold back during a fight, but to be mocked by a member of Team Rocket? “You think I’m just going to let you walk out of here unharmed?” He paused then spoke further. “I will hunt down every member of your organization and destroy you one by one.”

She rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to fire back a response, but instead was interrupted by a phone call. “Yes, I’m still here, Proton. In fact, I’ve got the Champion here as well. You’ve got all the tails now? All right. I’ll head back to the base. What should I do about a certain snoop? Oh, all right. Understood.” She put the xtransceiver away then turned back to Lance. “As much as I’d love to stay here, I can’t. The life of a Team Rocket executive is a busy one. Follow me and you’ll regret it.” She entered the exit and Lance followed her. He couldn’t save the slowpoke, but he could stop them from causing more harm.

He followed her from a distance, occasionally stopping behind stalagmites to hide for a few seconds. She took a sharp turn right. He followed her path and took the same right turn which lead him into a narrow and a dark passageway. There was no light here at all. He stopped at the entrance. “Sorry Dragonite, but I need you back inside your pokéball. You won’t be able to fit,” Lance said, turning to the dragon.

Dragonite lowered his head but resigned himself to the white light. Lance returned the pokéball to his belt and stepped inside the narrow passageway. He took a few cautious steps, stopping every few moments to feel his surroundings. He could hear footsteps a few feet away and knew Ariana was just up ahead.

“So, you decided to follow after all? Guess it was better than just standing around like an idiot.”

He took a few steps forward then came to an abrupt stop. He tried to move forward but found he couldn’t. Something had gotten stuck. He suspected his cape had gotten caught on a stalagmite. Dammit. Another ruined cape. He gave it a hard tug and freed himself, but in doing so, had caused him to topple forwards on a bad angle. A bad angle. He landed on a rock. A hiss of pain escaped his throat. He clenched his jaw, and clawed at the ground, squeezing his eyes shut, waiting for the pain to subside.

“I should’ve warned you about that rock… must’ve slipped my mind,” Ariana cackled, her laughter echoing throughout the cave. “Be seeing you, Champion… that is, if you ever manage to find your way out of here.”

He heard her laugh again, as she ventured further through the passageway. He was alone now; alone in a secret passageway in complete darkness with no clue on how to get out.

.

The battle against the Elder had just begun and things weren’t looking up for her at all. The bellsprouts had been easy enough to defeat, but that cursed hoot hoot was a nightmare. The owl had used Hypnosis successfully putting Mareep to sleep. Zubat, Toto and Pidgey were also asleep thanks to the move. There were only so many potions she could use to keep her team in the match.

She clenched her jaw shut, keeping her arms at her sides. This battle was testing her patience for sure. It was not a match of strength, but rather a one of skill and strategy. Put the opponent to sleep, do some damage and put the opponent to sleep again when the opponent woke up. She regretted not purchasing any awakening potions, but she hadn’t thought her luck would be this bad.

Every time Mareep awakened, she was put back to sleep immediately. Really frustrating. Lyra wanted to scream. How on earth was she supposed to win if her pokémon spent most of the match sleeping? The Elder was watching her closely, judging her reaction. She willed herself to remain calm by taking in a deep breath. _A test of patience,_ she told herself. _Pull yourself together,_ Lyra.

After a peck to the end, Mareep staggered, swaging from side to side, her knees buckling. The situation did not look good. She was down to her last potion now. Risk using the potion? Or save it for the rest of her team and allow Mareep to faint? She didn’t want any of her pokémon to suffer a knockout – that seemed too cruel, but she knew that was the way of battles. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made for a win.

She took a gamble and used her final potion to heal Mareep, feeding the liquid down her throat, hoping the sheep would wake up to have a chance to counterattack. Of course, there was a strong chance she’d be put back to sleep again, but battles were about taking risks. Mareep awakened, and looked at Lyra, meetings her trainer’s determined eyes. Mareep nodded, planting her feet into the ground, seeming more confident than before.

“Hoot Hoot, use Hypnosis!”

Mareep managed to fight off the urge to sleep. The Elder seemed pleased by this.

Lyra thrust her finger forward. “Mareep, use Tackle!”

Unfortunately, Mareep wasn’t strong enough to learn Thundershock yet - she knew electrical attacks did well against flying-types. That was a fact she had picked up from eavesdropping on Ethan’s conversation with Professor Elm one hot morning. Mareep lowered her head and charged forward, throwing her body at the hoot hoot. Hoot hoot toppled backwards but regained its composure.

“Use Peck!” Hoot Hoot hopped forward and lunged at Mareep. It struck Mareep on the head. Mareep cried out, small electrical sparks radiating from her fleece. Some of the sparks jumped onto the hoot hoot, causing the bird to make a harsh squawking noise. Lyra pulled her pokédex and opened a page regarding Mareep. Mareep had the ability to cause paralysis to an opponent if it was struck by a physical attack.

She couldn’t stop a wide smile from crossing her face. “Use Tackle again, Mareep!” The hoot hoot couldn’t move and Mareep took the opportunity to slam into the owl. Hoot hoot toppled over onto the ground, unmoving. Lyra threw a fist into the air and cheered, then rushed forward to give Mareep a hug, receiving a weak electrical shock in return. “We did it!” Mareep responded with a soft bleating sound.

“Well done. You have shown me how tight your bond is with your pokémon,” the Elder Li said, as his one-legged owl returned to its pokéball. He walked towards Lyra holding a potion in his hand. The potion wasn’t like any one she had seen in the shops – the liquid inside the bottle was a shade of magenta. Magical healing potion? “Take this special move. It’s called flash.”

“Flash? What does it do?” She had seen it advertised in the shops for a hefty price of two-hundred pokédollars. That seemed a little too expensive this early in the journey.

“Use it when you find yourself in a dark place. Teach it to one of your capable pokémon,” he added, giving Lyra the potion.

“Okay, thanks.” She placed it in her bag.

The Elder bowed his head, smiling. “You have proven yourself worthy of taking on Violet City Gym. Go now and strengthen your bond even further.” He bowed his head, and Lyra made her way back down.

Before she could take on the gym, she needed to heal her hardworking pokémon and buy a few more potions. Then it was time to gain a bit more experience, upgrade the move sets of her pokémon before taking on the gym challenge. She would have that gym badge.

Fiery pain travelled through every part of his body. Even a mere attempt to move his arms from their awkward angles resulted in immense pain. He still couldn’t see a damn thing and that wasn’t going to change anytime too soon. His pokémon were far too bulky to fit in this narrow passageway… and he didn’t have flash.

He lay there like a cripple, struggling to fight off the pain so he could think of a way to get out of this stinkin’ well. Nothing came to mind. He tried to force himself up off the ground, but that only brought on a new wave of pain. He was helpless, much like a magikarp, flailing around on dry ground. Not exactly his ideal situation to be in.

A wave of nausea gripped his mind and he was half-tempted to expel whatever was inside onto the ground. Somehow, he managed to hold it all in. He could hear the voices of Ariana and a few other Team Rocket members echo throughout the place. Their voices were faint, but he could make out a few words such as ‘Champion’, ‘not a bother’, and ‘Archer.’

Just then, he felt something vibrate at his belt. He reached down with his right hand, wincing as pain shot down his arm. Fingers opened the pouch and grasped the surface of his xtransceiver. He had almost forgotten all about that glorious piece of technology thanks to the pain. He did his best to answer it.

“Hey Lance, it’s me, Koga. Just thought I’d remind you that it’s Karen’s twenty-first birthday tomorrow and you have yet to sign her card. So, get here as soon as possible!” Koga hung up on the phone.

Karen’s birthday party. Naturally, he had forgotten all about that being so caught up in his own problems. The final member of the elite four insisted on having a party and she expected all the boys of the league to buy her something special. If he didn’t make any purchases for her, she’d refuse to do the cooking for the week. That would be a problem since none of the boys knew how to cook. Karen was a handful; wild and tough, and sometimes a little intimidating, just like her dark-type pokémon. He groaned inwardly.

He looked at the xtransceiver again. He could give his cousin a call. As much as he hated seeking assistance from his prideful cousin, he needed her now. He hit the numbers and waited. After three dials, Clair picked up. “Clair. It’s me, Lance. I need your help right now. I’m at the Slowpoke Well in Azalea Town. You’ll find a narrow passageway off the normal path,” he said. He paused then added, “It’s… an emergency and you’re the only person I thought to contact.”

He heard her snort. “What are you doing there? Practicing your tough guy routine in the dark?” she jeered. “Sorry, you’re on your own. I’ve got a gym to manage.” She hung up immediately.

Well, that hurt. So, Clair was still mad at him from their argument earlier. He grumbled, dropping his xtransceiver onto the ground. Now what was he going to do?

.

Lyra reached the entrance of the gym. The building hadn’t been hard to miss, as it had a big fancy roof on it with a symbol of a pokéball on the top. The sign ‘Violet City Gym’ also made locating the place easy. Before she entered the place, she made sure to check up on her trainer’s guidebook for helpful information regarding gyms. There was an entire chapter dedicated to the gyms, but she wasn’t too keen on reading it all in depth, so she skimmed over the major details.

A gym battle was straightforward. Each gym was designed in a way to represent the overall theme of the gym which gave the challenger an idea of what was to come. Gym trainers were stationed around the building to lessen the chances of a challenger making it to the end in one attempt. Some could be avoided, but the book recommended the challenger battle them for extra practice. As for the gym leader, the book explained they usually had the strongest pokémon of their type. A gym leader’s pokémon were normally stronger than a usual one of the same species because of the specialized training. When a gym leader was defeated, they had to give the challenger a badge. Eight badges were needed to gain entrance into the region’s league.

She put the book away and stepped inside the building and was immediately greeted by a funny looking man with a brown crew cut. He was dressed in all matching brown clothes and his eyes were shielded with a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses. Even his beard was brown. Strange man.

“Hey there lass! I’m the national gym advisor and I’m here to share a tip with you that will tip the odds in your favour! This gym is home to flying-type trainers. I recommend you use an electric or rock-type pokémon for this battle. Good luck, lass!”

She didn’t have a rock-type pokémon, but she did have an electric-type. Mareep had learned the move Thundershock and that was sure to tip the battle in her favour. At least she hoped it would. The gym leader most likely had a few tricks up his or her sleeves to counter-attack their weaknesses. She looked ahead and found a wooden lift. Placing a foot on it, she jerked her foot back when the lift made a funny whirring noise. The lift hadn’t fallen, so she stepped back on and was taken up to the upper level, where an ‘S’ shape path awaited her.

There were two trainers standing on the wooden platform, both of which could be avoided if she chose to take the glass path. But why avoid the battles that could strengthen her team? She placed a foot onto the wooden path and made her way to the first trainer whom she noticed was called Abe.

The teenage male looked at her and smirked. “You must be confident to take the hard path over the easy one. I’m going to make you regret that decision!”

Lyra snorted. “Go for it, Mareep!”

Mareep stood before its master and stared down the opposite trainer. Abe grinned, and called out his own pokémon, a small brown bird, with a short-hooked beak. Lyra consulted her pokédex. 

_Spearow. It flaps its short wings to flush out insects from tall grass. It then plucks them with its stubby beak._

Sounded like a cruel avian. Lyra was thankful she didn’t have any bug-type pokémon.

“Spearow, use Peck!”

The small bird moved surprisingly fast. It quickly threw Mareep of its feet with a sharp stab on the head. Mareep’s fleece generated sparks and the Spearow was paralysed. “Use Thundershock, Mareep!” Lyra declared. Small bolts of electricity struck the Spearow. The bird screamed then fell over, its eyes crossed.

Abe looked stunned, but quickly shook it off. “You got lucky.”

Lyra recalled her pokémon then moved to the next one. This time, she let Totodile battle. Her trusty companion was eager to fight and immediately jumped out in front of Lyra. Her opponent, Rod, summoned his first pokémon. A pidgey. “Toto, use Water Gun!” A stream of water exited Toto’s mouth, smashing into the pidgey. The pidgey was immediately drenched in water and flapped furiously to dry itself off.

“Tackle!” The wet pidgey tackled Totodile.

Totodile growled, gnashing its jaws at the air. “Use Water Gun again, Toto!” The second attack was enough to knock the pidgey out, but before she could celebrate, Rod summoned another Pidgey. The same attack cycle occurred and once again, Lyra claimed victory.

“You might have beaten my friend and I, but Falkner is far stronger than us combined,” Rod boasted.

Lyra edged away from Rod and continued to move forward. There was a young male whom she suspected was in his late teens, standing alone dressed in blue robes. Like the gym advisor, Falkner seemed to be a fan of matching clothes and hair. His hair and eyes were a deep shade of blue matching his clothing.

“I’m Falkner, the Violet pokémon gym leader! People say you can clip flying-type pokémon’s wings with a jolt of electricity… I won’t allow such insults to bird pokémon! I’ll show you the real power of the magnificent bird pokémon!” he said, his eyes cold and emotionless.

Did all gym leaders wear such a face or was it just a mark they wore when on duty? She stepped up, feeling nerves creep up on her. This wasn’t some common battle against another trainer. She was going up against a specialist gym leader, one who specialized in the power of flying-type pokémon. Falkner summoned his first pokémon and Lyra wasn’t surprised to see a pidgey. That she could take on. She was a specialist in taking down pidgeys and bellsprout having encountered so many on her journey so far.

“Pidgey, use Sand Attack!”

The opposing Pidgey sat down on the ground, turned its back to Lyra, and kicked at the ground flicking dust into her Mareep’s eyes. Temporarily blinded, Mareep blinked several times in quick motion, trying to remove the dust particles from her eyes.

“Thundershock!”

Mareep obeyed and aimed a weak bolt at the offending pidgey but missed by a couple of inches. “Sand Attack again!” Falkner ordered in a commanding tone.

Once again, Mareep found himself on the receiving end of dust particles. Her vision was even worse than it was previously. Lyra tightened her jaw, feeling sweat beads form on her head. If she couldn’t even land one hit there was no way she could win. “Return Mareep. Go, Pidgey!” She summoned her Pidgey, recalling Mareep.

“Use Gust!” Gust was a new move her pidgey had learned after a brief stop at the pokémon centre. Updating moves at a pokémon centre was easier because the nurses could tell her what moves would best benefit her pokémon’s personality. Falkner’s Pidgey flapped its wings causing a mini tornado to appear. It struck the other pidgey blowing it away. The pidgey picked itself back up and flapped over to its previous position. Lyra inwardly cursed. It was tougher than it looked.

“Sand Attack!”

 _By Arceus’s breath,_ Lyra cursed. She was briefly reminded of her battle with the Elder of Sprout Tower and his annoying hoot hoot. Different moves, but a remarkably similar situation. “Keep using Gust, Pidgey!” she called out, crossing her fingers hoping Pidgey would land an attack.

Pidgey succeeded, summoning enough strength to knock out the other pidgey out for the match. She was curious to see what other flying pokémon Falkner had. She didn’t know of any others. Perhaps he had another pidgey? “Pidgeotto!”

A pigeon that looked very much like an older pidgey appeared before her. Unlike a pidgey, Pidgeotto was brightly coloured, its plumage a brilliant mixture of red and yellow. She turned to her pokédex for information.

_Pidgeotto. The evolved form of Pidgey. It has outstanding vision. However high it flies it can distinguish the movements of prey._

Evolved form of pidgey? How come her one hadn’t evolved? Perhaps her pidgey wasn’t much stronger after all.

“Pidgeotto, use Gust!” A mini tornado was conjured by the pidgeotto. It headed towards Pidgey and struck it hard, landing a critical hit. Pidgey fluttered to the ground.

“You fought well, Pidgey. Now it’s your turn, Zubat!”

The blind bat hovered in the air, flapping his wings frantically. This was a risk putting out a zubat since her one only knew three moves that did barely next to any damage. She was not at all surprised when the pidgeotto took Zubat down with one Gust. Now she had two left – Toto and Mareep.

“Mareep, it’s your turn!” Mareep returned to the battlefield. The sheep eyed the pidgeotto, eyes narrowed as if she were angry at the bird for felling her friends. Lyra planned to use Thundershock, but the pidgeotto was faster. Much faster than the poor sheep. The bird swooped, raking its talons with enough force, her sheep was flung to the side. Mareep collapsed.

“Do you see it now, the power of bird pokémon!” Falkner said. It wasn’t a question; it was bold a statement. Lyra nodded in agreement. Their power was immense. To think this was her first gym! The other gym leaders were going to be much tougher than this which was a frightening thought.

“It’s up to you, Toto,” Lyra whispered. Toto, who had been standing at her side the entire time, leapt forward into battle.

“Gust!”

Again, the bird created a mini tornado. The force of the wind pushed Toto and Lyra back a few inches. Lyra had to plant her feet firmly in the ground and crouch her knees slightly just to hold her position. Her hair flew around her head, clawing at her face. “Use Water Gun, Toto!” Toto sent forth a stream of water which struck the pigeotto square in the chest. Unfortunately, it hardly looked to have done any damage, other than giving the bird a good soaking.

“Finish the challenger off with a tackle, Pidgeotto!”

And for the first time since leaving for her journey, Lyra suffered a defeat.

.

An hour had passed, and Lance was still in the well and still feeling sore. The pain had eased slightly, reducing to a dull throbbing pain as opposed to a sharp fiery one. It was unpleasant, and any form of movement still hurt. He was about to call one of the elite four members to come down and get him when he heard Clair’s voice. “Lance? Is that you in there?”

He had never been so happy to hear her voice. “Yes.” He winced, as white light filled the cave. At least Clair had been smart enough to carry a flashlight. She shined it on him now and almost laughed. He assumed he must’ve looked rather ridiculous lying there on the ground with a torn cape, arms, and legs in bizarre uncomfortable angles.

“I wasn’t going to come down, you know… I’m still mad at you, but here I am.” She wandered over to him and knelt, holding back a snicker. “Why are you here anyway?”

Telling Clair about Team Rocket’s return wasn’t a wise thing to do. She was impulsive, highly emotional, and arrogant. She’d chase after them herself without his permission and get herself into a lot of trouble. But she had come all this way to help him. Maybe he could reward her with some information. “It’s Team Rocket. Grandfather’s visions were right. They have returned,” he said finally, watching her carefully.

Her sapphire eyes narrowed. “Team Rocket? I guess Red didn’t do that good of a job, after all.”

“It’s not Red’s fault. Criminal organizations are always trying to plan their comebacks. Giovanni might be out of the picture, but he had many followers all of which are trying to fulfil his ambitions,” Lance explained.

She gave him a questioning look. “How did you know they were here?”

He sighed. “Grandfather mentioned something about slowpokes missing tails, so I came here to investigate. I didn’t know they’d be here. It was pure luck that I came across them.”

She pressed her lips together, jaw tightening. Lance had seen this expression many times before to know Clair was on the verge of throwing a tantrum. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” she demanded, staring down at him. “I know he would keep it from me, but I expected better from you or is playing hero more important?” she snarled.

“Clair… not now. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to bother you with this.”

“It’s Team Rocket. I deserve to know,” she snapped. She turned her head away then looked back at him again. “Did you battle?”

“Too risky. We would’ve brought the entire place crashing down. I followed one of the executives through here thinking she’d take me back to their base…” he stopped suddenly, not wanting to go any further. Telling Clair that he had fallen onto a rock didn’t sound very champion-like. She’d probably hold it against him for the rest of his life.

The snarl on her face was quickly replaced with a teasing grin. “Judging by the way you’re lying there on the ground all curled up like that would I be wrong to assume that you fell over a rock? Your future wife is going to be so disappointed,” she teased.

Dammit. “Not over, onto,” he muttered bitterly.

She chuckled. “The Dragon Master Champion defeated by a rock. I’d pay good money for the full story,” she laughed again then fell silent, noticing he wasn’t sharing her amusement. She sighed, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. “I’ll take you to the pokémon centre in Azalea Town.”

“The pokémon centre?” Lance repeated.

Clair nodded. “Yes, the pokémon centre. How do you expect to take on Team Rocket if you can’t even exit the well without help?” she challenged. He resigned himself to defeat. She had a good point there. “Grab my hand and I’ll help you up.” He reached up and grabbed Clair’s arm, and she hoisted him up. “Now, place your arm around my neck. We’ll get out of here slowly.”

.

Losing had dealt a big blow to her self-esteem. She had not only lost the match but had let down her team and herself. She sat down under a tree, leaning against the hard wood staring lifelessly at the ground. “Perhaps I wasn't cut out to be a trainer after all,” she muttered, looking at her pokémon. Totodile, Pidgey, Mareep and Zubat were sitting around her, giving their master a confused look.

Mareep rubbed her head against Lyra. Totodile tried to bring a smile on Lyra's face by doing a little dance which involved jumping from foot to foot, while Pidgey and Zubat flapped their wings to cool her down a bit. She tried to smile but didn't feel any joy in her heart. “I'm sorry, I failed you all.” Flashes of the match against Falkner replayed in her mind repeatedly. Pidgeotto was far too strong for her team. Too fast. Too agile. Could any of her pokémon beat it?

She brought her knees up to her chest, burying her head in her knees, trying to keep her emotions in check. She always knew being a trainer was going to be a difficult one, but she wasn't mentally prepared for this. Bottom lip trembling, she bit down hard to stop the tears from spilling. But it was too late.

Weak. Mentally and physically weak. That's what she was and that's all she was ever going to be. It wasn't skill that had gotten her this far, it had been pure beginner's luck. The people that had seen great potential in her… Professor Elm, her mother, her childhood friend, her neighbours… They were probably just saying nice things to boost her confidence.

The tears continued to flow down her cheeks wetting her clothes. Using the back palm of her hand she wiped the tears away, but new ones soon replaced them. What would they say if they could see her now weeping like a young child? Her mother would probably insist she return home and decide on a different career path to take. Instead of being a trainer, her mother would recommend becoming a ranger or breeder.

But she didn't want to be a ranger or a breeder. She was fourteen years of age; a late bloomer to the trainer world as some would say. She hadn't felt ready at the age of ten, and if she didn't feel ready at the age of fourteen, would she ever feel the time was right?

“Dear child, why are you weeping?” a voice spoke.

Lyra jerked her head up, quickly wiping away the tears. The Elder Li was standing a few feet away from her, his brows knotted in confusion. “I lost,” she mumbled.

The Elder Li came towards her and held out his hand. “Please take my hand. I know something that will make you feel better.” He held out a calloused hand. Lyra looked at it for a while then decided to take it. It would be rude to refuse. She took his hand and he helped her up from the ground and led her towards a cosy looking house.

He unlocked the door and led Lyra inside. The place was small and a little old fashioned, but it seemed like a nice house. She saw no signs of televisions or gaming consoles in the room, nor did she see any tables, chairs, or couches. Aside from a few paintings, there was only a fridge, an oven, and a kitchen sink.

She sat down on the hard-wooden planks, as her pokémon gathered around her. The Elder Li walked to the fridge, opened the door, and pulled something out. He returned to sit beside her and gave her a bottle of orange juice while giving her pokémon something that looked like berries. Her pokémon gobbled them up eagerly. The Elder turned to her. “Do not be so hard on yourself, Lyra,” he started, smiling. “Even the greatest of trainers lose.”

Was he just saying that to make her feel better? She tried to offer a polite smile. “If they were so great, they wouldn't be losing.”

He did not seem offended by her rash words. He was still smiling. “If a trainer never lost, how would they know how to improve? If they continued to win, a trainer would never understand their strengths and weaknesses. A loss makes you stronger.”

His words made sense to her ears. When she was younger, her mother had often told her that until one makes a mistake, they will never learn and move forward. Making mistakes was the easy part – but accepting them? Not so much. “I just... want to be the Champion,” she said weakly, gazing up from the floor. “I want to be like Red. I want to be a trainer my family and friends can be proud of…”

“Accepting a loss is difficult, but you will become a better trainer if you can. Believe in yourself and in your pokémon and the seemingly impossible becomes possible. You have made this far already, do not turn back now because of a minor setback.”

She drew in a sharp breath and fought back a new wave of tears. “I don't know if I can beat Falkner…”

“Have faith, Lyra. If you believe, your pokémon will also believe.”

Her throat was still dry despite having drunk the bottle of water. She set it down on the floor and stood up. The Elder Li was right. She could not stop now. “Thank you for your kind words and hospitality,” Lyra said.

“You do not need to thank me for anything, it is you I should be thanking for allowing me to witness the rise of a great new champion,” the Elder Li replied, also standing. He led her to the exit and took her to a grassy patch which led back to where she caught the Mareep. “Remember, have faith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :D


	6. An Unplanned Meeting

Lance flipped through the channels on the remote, not spending less than a second on each show. Nothing appealed to his interests. He cared little for musicals and gossip shows. What had happened to quality pokémon shows about training and battles? That was where he wanted to be now – battling Team Rocket. But instead, he had been forced to stay in his bed until the nurse was certain he was in prime health.

He had tried using his position as Champion to tip the odds in his favour, but the nurse was not impressed and threatened to call his grandfather. So here he was, the league Champion of Johto and Kanto, forced to sit inside one of the many patient rooms with nothing but a bed, a radio, and a television full of boring channels to keep him entertained. Clair had long since left, returning to the Blackthorn Gym to mock the next poor challenger who dared to battle her.

A few minutes later and a different nurse entered the room, carrying a tray of food and water. “Here you go, Master Lance. It is not much, but I hope you find it satisfying,” she said, smiling at him. He caught a faint blush of red on her cheeks. He lifted a brow but said nothing. “Your pokémon are healed as well. You can collect them when you leave. If you need my services, please press the white button on your bedside table.”

“I'll be sure to do that,” Lance replied.

She curtsied then exited the room. He glanced down at the tray of food and groaned. A bowl of tomato soup, two pieces of sourdough bread and a glass of water was all he had. _Fitting food for a champion,_ he thought sarcastically. If he were at the league pokémon centre, he'd be eating high quality food.

He looked at the soup bowl for a little longer debating whether to try some. It didn't even look like tomato soup. It was more of a light orange colour like the colour of dragonite's scales. He lowered his nose and sniffed. “Smells like carrot.” He dared himself to try some. “Yup, definitely carrot.” He put the tray on the table, refusing to eat more of it.

Perhaps the quality of the radio was better than the food. He grabbed it and placed it on his lap and played around with the knobs until he picked up a station. “Pokémon Music. Pass,” he said, turning the knob again. “Pokémon Channel. I know all this stuff already,” he said. He turned it again. “People and Places. Hmm, interesting.”

“And turning to our next exciting trainer, Marina will be showcasing her taste in fashion this weekend! Join us at the National Park to discover the latest accessories your pokémon pals can use as Marina struts her stuff around the park!”

Lance shuddered. He made a mental note to avoid Goldrenrod City and the National Park this coming weekend. He turned the knob again. “Variety Channel. Nope. Unknown Radio Station. Don't care.” He turned it one last time and frowned as some strange high-pitched bleeping noise played. There was no radio jockey at all. A nameless radio station. Odd. Perhaps the nurse could explain it?

He pushed the button and seconds later, the nurse came rushing in. “What do you need help with, Master Lance?” Her dark eyes briefly flickered over to the seemingly untouched food tray then moved back to Lance.

“This station… what is it called?” He turned the volume up so the nurse could hear it clearly as well. She moved forward, a frown on her delicate features.

“I have not heard of it before… perhaps the radio is broken?”

He shook his head. “The other stations work. I wonder what's causing that noise?” He swung his legs over the side of his bed and wondered over to the doorway with a noticeable limp in his step. The nurse was so stunned by the radio she didn't even try to stop him from walking out into the main foyer. Fortunately, the place was empty.

“Please someone help me!” A young boy with dirty brown hair, and muddy white clothes burst in through the doors, an expression of distress on his face. He was panting hard. Lance could see noticeable beads of sweat all over his face.

The nurse rushed forward, comforting the boy. “What's the matter?”

“My pokémon… my rattata suddenly evolved into a raticate! I only just hatched it from an egg! It turned against me and now it won't return to its pokéball!” He wiped away tears then turned his gaze on Lance. If the boy recognized him then he certainly had a good way of not showing it. “Please help me!”

Forced unexplained evolution. The boy had said 'suddenly evolved'. Had the radio station with the weird noise caused this? His thoughts drifted to Team Rocket. Somehow, they were linked to this. Lance turned to the nurse. “Give me my pokémon. I'll handle this.” The nurse nodded eyes wide. She hurried to the healing machine and returned with his trusty team of six. He looked at the boy and nodded. “Lead the way.”

.

An hour of intense grinding had passed, but it had paid off. Lyra’s pokémon were now much stronger than before and each of them, except Totodile, had been able to learn a new attack. She now felt ready for a rematch with Falkner. All four of her pokémon marched behind her as they stormed up to the doors of the gym.

“Back again?” Falkner said, as Lyra walked towards him, ignoring the snide comments from the two Bird Trainers, who were peering down from the railings above. He took on a fighting stance and summoned his first pokémon, pidgey.

“You might have beaten me the first time, but I'm more than ready now.” She looked down at Mareep. Mareep nodded and stepped forward to take the first match. The Elder Li’s words replayed in her mind. _Have faith._

“You are confident. I look forward to this rematch. Give it your best,” Falkner said. “Pidgey, use Sand Attack!”

At the same time, Lyra yelled out, “Thundershock!” Mareep’s fleece crackled with lightning. Sparks flew at the avian, frying its feathers and knowing it down from the air. The pidgey was knocked out immediately. Falker didn't seem unnerved, he looked quite pleased. He called out his second and final pokémon to the battlefield, his prized pidgeotto.

Even though her Mareep had grown stronger, Lyra knew this was still going to be a tough battle. “Gust!” The familiar mini tornado appeared, rushing towards her Mareep. Mareep held her ground as it encountered the furious funnel.

“Thundershock!” Mareep's eyes opened, and the sheep sent forth a bolt at the bird as the funnel died down. Pidgeotto shrieked and flapped its wings frantically as the mild bolt struck the bird. It wasn't enough to knock the pidgeotto unconscious but Mareep had done enough damage to shake the bird. A few feathers fluttered to the ground.

“Roost!” Pidgeotto came to the floor, tucked its wings, and lowered its head, its eyes closed. Lyra frowned. Was the bird sleeping? What a weird thing to do during a battle. Mareep also looked confused, looking to Lyra for answers. All Lyra could do was shrug. She didn't have a clue either. She looked at Falkner. He was smiling. Something was wrong.

Falkner's pidgeotto opened its eyes and jumped into the air, flapping to gain some altitude. It was as if the bird itself had recovered from the previous attack, making it look like it hadn't even happened. “You look confused. I'll explain it to you. Some pokémon have the ability to recover health – pidgeotto just happens to be one of them,” he said.

That seemed unfair. How could a pokémon that could heal itself ever be defeated then? Before she could work out an answer, pidgeotto knocked Mareep off her feet. Mareep did not stand up again. Zubat and Pidgey were both eager to battle, but Lyra summoned Totodile to take the place of Mareep.

“Use Leer!” Totodile glared at the pidgeotto. The bird seemed to freeze in the air momentarily, allowing Lyra to catch a glimpse of a weak spot - the joint where the wing joined the body. Pidgeotto snapped out of its trance and flew around in circles.

“Gust!” Another funnel, fortunately Totodile withstood the attack.

“Aim for the wings! Use Water Gun!” Lyra commanded, pointing at her opponent's pokémon.

Totodile nodded, and launched a burst of water at the bird, hitting it directly in its vulnerable area. The bird fluttered helplessly to the ground, writhing in pain. It managed to pick itself up but remained unsteady on its feet. “Use Roost!” Once again, the pidgeotto settled itself on the floor and took a quick nap to restore a portion of its health.

“Use Scratch!”

Lyra wasn't the only one growing annoyed. Totodile seemed to feed off her agitated state of mind. He charged forward, striking at the bird with full strength. Pidgeotto staggered backwards and fell over on its back, legs up in the air. It flapped for a while trying to flip itself over, but the bird no longer had strength. Totodile's last attack had been a critical one.

Falkner recalled his prized bird pokémon and glanced down at the pokéball. “My father's prized pokémon… they were beaten…” he said, sounding a little dumbfounded. He sighed then glanced at Lyra. “You are the clear winner of our battle. As the rules state, I must present you with a gym badge as proof of your victory. This is the Zephyr Badge,” he said, giving her a shiny silver coloured badge. It had the appearance of two wings. “I'll also gift you with the healing move, Roost.”

She received the gift items and placed them in her bag where the egg currently was. Unfortunately, all these new items gave her little space for anything else in her bag, so she removed the egg and cradled it in her arms again. “Thank you!” she beamed. The Elder Sage had been right. Believe in yourself and anything was possible.

He grinned. “You should head to Azalea Town next. You'll find the next gym leader there, Bugsy. Don't let his appearance fool you – he's a tough foe to beat, even for me. Oh, and before you go, you'll be able to access the trading machine upstairs in the pokémon centre. Good luck to you, Lyra. I will see you again.” He led her out of the gym. Once she was outside, he headed back inside the building. _Probably preparing himself for the next battle,_ she thought.

She headed towards the pokémon centre and stepped inside. As per normal, she healed her pokémon. Once she received them, she headed upstairs to the trading facility Falkner had mentioned. A lady in a uniform approached her. “Welcome! This is the trading area. You can trade your pokémon for another pokémon or an egg if you wish.”

That sounded like fun, but that meant parting with one of hers. She had come to love them all equally. “How does it work?”

“Wave your ID card under the scanner, and a screen will come up. Simply touch the screen and search for a pokémon you would like to have. Once you have found a pokémon you like, offer the pokémon you would like to trade in the machine here. The trade takes a few seconds.”

“How many can I trade?”

“There are no limits but be careful. You can't get your pokémon back once a trade has been made.”

Lyra nodded. As much as she loved Zubat and Pidgey, she wanted a pokémon from another region. She had heard Sinnoh had fascinating ones there. She stepped up to the screen and hit the Sinnoh region button then scrolled through the options. There were many pokémon up for trade, but one stood out to her the most. A newborn gible, a dragon-type pokémon. Dragons were sacred and mythical creatures but rumoured to be difficult to raise. Was it worth the time and effort?

There was also a bird pokémon called Starly which was a black feathered avian with a white face. The starly was also a newborn. She looked at the trainer's details. A girl named Dawn was offering them up for a trade in return for two Kanto or Johto pokémon. “I'll do it,” she said. “I'm going to miss you dearly Pidgey and Mareep, but you'll do fine without me.” She couldn't help but feel a little sad as she offered her pokémon to trade. She placed the ball inside the transfer machine and watched it as one pokéball was sucked up in a tube. Mareep followed.

Two pokéballs popped out of the machine in place of the two she had traded. A male gible and a female starly. She decided to get a good look at her new companions and summoned them from their pokéballs. Totodile and zubat looked at the new pokémon with great interest. Lyra too examined them with curious eyes, wondering what sort of adventures they would have as a team.

Starly was smaller than the Pidgey, but just as cute although it didn't look as sturdy. She turned to the gible. Gible was a strange looking creature. He was a small, pudgy baby dragon with a big mouth filled with sharp teeth. The dragon appeared to have no neck. His scales were a dark blue colour and his belly was red. On the top of his head was a fin that looked much like the dorsal fin of a shark. It was hard to believe this thing was a dragon-type, or even powerful, but looks could be deceiving.

Lyra hoped she hadn't made the wrong decision.

.

Falkner stood outside the gym, holding a phone to his right ear, a smile spread across his face. Even though he had lost, he found it hard to be disappointed. The adrenaline rush of a good fight always put him in good spirits. Even better when he faced a strong trainer. Most of the trainers that challenged him only cared about winning as quickly as possible, and often resorted to using rock-type pokémon to get a quick advantage. However, Lyra had chosen to stick with her defeated team and won the rematch despite the odds being stacked against her.

Whoever the girl was, she certainly had potential to go quite a long way if she was determined. Of course, she had to prove to him it wasn’t just a lucky win. If she failed to defeat Bugsy, then the girl had just gotten lucky, but if she managed to defeat him, she could certainly travel far and perhaps even become Champion. It was about time someone knocked Lance off his pedestal. “Hi Bugsy,” Falkner said. “There’s a strong trainer heading your way. I think she’ll make it far.”

“That’s what you said about the last trainer and they failed to defeat me. It’s been almost a month since I last saw them,” Bugsy replied, in his usual smug tone.

Bugsy was the youngest of the Johto gym trainers and probably the most annoying as well. When the gym leaders came together at the start of the year to discuss the year ahead, Bugsy would bring his bugs along and scare the girls. This usually ended up in delayed meetings as they had to spend time locating the bugs and putting them back in. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get Bugsy thrown out of the Johto Eight because despite his many flaws, he was quite a skilled trainer.

“I’m confident about this girl. She beat me without using rock-type pokémon.” He reached down a pocket with his free hand, drawing out a couple of poffins. Throwing them onto the ground, he chuckled softly, as his bird pokémon pecked at them.

“So?”

Falkner sighed. “It’s just a warning. Don’t get too overconfident. Scyther might be fast and hit extremely hard, but so does Pidgeotto and we still lost.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Well, just thought I should let you know. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up the phone and shook his head. What had Bugsy’s father been thinking when he left that boy in charge?

.

Lyra’s new gible was proving to be quite difficult to control. He obeyed her orders during battle, but after the battle was over, Gible stopped listening to her. Gible seemed to have a knack for chasing trouble. It was as if the baby dragon liked getting into and creating trouble for his new master. Gible would attack defeated wild pokémon and attack the losing trainer if Lyra didn’t throw Gible’s pokéball to call the naughty dragon back.

Starly, on the other hand, preferred to be by herself rather than play with Gible, Zubat and Toto. The poor pokémon looked sad most of the time, and Lyra hoped it wasn’t because it had been traded away. Gible and Toto were play fighting in a nearby grass patch as Zubat flew above them while Starly sat on a tree branch watching. Lyra sighed, shaking her head, but she was smiling. Starly and Gible had already gotten stronger just by battling wild pokémon. But they couldn’t stay here forever.

She was now on the path to Azalea Town. There were other things to explore in Violet City, namely Route 36, but she just wanted to get the next gym badge. She’d come back later once her team was stronger. She had already defeated five trainers – Albert, Liz, Roland, Gordon and Justin who had five magikarp in his possession which seemed a little extreme in Lyra’s mind.

Now there were only a few left to go. “Okay everyone, back to your pokéballs!” Lyra said, calling all her pokémon back except for Totodile. Zubat and Starly returned without protest, but Gible head butted the ball away then did a funny little dance which Lyra assumed was a victory one. “You are eager to battle, aren’t you?” Lyra said, glancing down at the dragon.

Gible nodded. This dragon sure loved fighting. Lyra smiled. “All right, you win. But you can’t expect to take every battle.” Gible nodded again. Lyra wasn’t completely sure if it understood her or not, but knew she had to keep an awfully close eye on him. The moment she looked away, Gible would run after some poor wild pokémon and get lost in the forest… Or worse, get attacked.

She approached yet another fisherman and hoped this one did not use magikarp as well. She wanted a challenge and magikarp were anything but challenging. He was facing the water’s edge; completely unaware she was there. She tapped him on the back, and he jumped, startled, dropping his nametag. Henry. He spun around. “You startled me! I lost a pokémon! A battle with you will calm my mind!”

Lyra stepped back and allowed Gible to take position. Fisherman Henry threw out a ball and a round blue shaped creature with a spiral belly popped out. Lyra pulled out her pokédex to obtain data.

_Poliwag. Because it is inept at walking on its newly grown legs, it always swims around in water._

She turned back to the creature. It did seem to have major difficulty standing still even. “Gible, use Tackle!”

The dragon obeyed, throwing its entire weight at the clumsy poliwag. Gible struck hard and fast, causing the poliwag to fall over. It tried to get back onto its feet, but it didn’t seem able to flip itself up onto its feet again. “Water Sport!” Henry yelled. Poliwag spewed out some water, cloaking itself in the cool liquid.

Lyra had no idea what that move did but it didn’t appear to do any harm at all. “Use Tackle again!”

Gible hit hard once again. Poliwag was no more. Gible gave Henry a cheeky grin, revealing razor sharp teeth. “Okay Gible, its Toto’s turn now,” said Lyra. Gible looked at Lyra and shook his head. Oh no. “We promised earlier that you can’t take every battle. You have to share the load,” she insisted. Gible glared.

“Stop fooling around, trainer, and continue on the battle!” Henry said, grabbing Lyra’s attention briefly. Another poliway waited to battle. Lyra turned to her Toto, giving him an apologetic glance, and turned back to Gible… only to find Gible wasn’t there. Oh no. She looked up and found her Gible running awkwardly through a grass patch towards the forest boundary.

“Gible!” Lyra called out, but the Gible kept running. She glanced back at the trainer then to the forest. She had to cancel the battle. That was embarrassing… really embarrassing but Gible had left her no choice. She gave the fisherman a sheepish look then bolted after her runaway dragon.

.

Lance had once again found himself in an eerie place where he was surrounded by wounded pokémon. Fortunately, these pokémon, which were all rattatas, had not been disfigured. There were bite marks on the majority and Lance had a feeling they had been attacked by the rogue raticate that had somehow evolved at an exceedingly early stage.

The forest was dark, but not so dark he couldn’t see anything, unlike the Slowpoke Well. And fortunately, there were no rocks around the place for him to fall onto again. The raticate’s owner had stayed at the forest boundary as it was too dangerous for him to come this far in. Dragonite stayed at his master’s side, keeping his eyes peeled. They continued moving forward through the forest undergrowth until they reached a clearing.

What he saw next confused him greatly. In the middle of the clearing there was a gible, gnawing on a twig. Lance noticed there was a trail of blood running down its left side. A fresh wound. The gible can’t have been a wild one – gibles weren’t known to native to Johto. So, it must have been a stray and been abandoned by its owner. Lance knew all too well that only determined trainers could raise dragons and only the best could make them evolve to the next stage.

He observed it closely and pondered with the idea of claiming it as his own. Strays were abandoned pokémon meaning their owners had no ownership over them anymore. A fully evolved gible would make a great addition to his draconic team of pokémon. It was weakened already as well making the task much easier. He crept closer towards the unsuspecting gible until he was close enough.

He hurled the pokéball. The gible had no idea what was coming for it. Soon, he’d have a gible on his side, then he would be one step closer to having every single dragon-type pokémon in the universe and no one would dare mess with hi-what? The ball bounced off its scales and tumbled onto the grass. The gible glanced at the ball. It bent down, sniffed it then drew back as if disgusted. It kicked it away.

“Gible! There you are!”

Things were become stranger by the minute now. A young female teenager came bursting into the clearing, stopping besides Lance and his dragonite. She rushed forward, threw out a pokéball and recalled her gible back. Once the gible was safe, she turned on Lance, her features knotted in anger. “Thief!” she accused. “Leave Gible alone!”

Lance was taken aback by her sudden accusation. “I didn’t…”

“I noticed Gible was hurt. Did you attack him as well?” she demanded, glancing up at him.

Being this close to the girl, he noticed there was something strangely familiar about her… Wait. Was this the same girl his grandfather had predicted would be the one to defeat him? The one who he was supposed to look for? The one he had caught battling against a true thief, the boy with the long red hair?

She didn’t look tough at all this close. She was a short, lean girl with cute brown pigtails and wide brown curious eyes who happened to be dressed in overalls. In other words? She looked ridiculous. She really looked like she ought to be out on some farm milking miltanks, not out here as a trainer with a powerful dragon-type pokémon. “You weren’t around. How was I supposed to know the gible wasn’t some stray?” he replied smugly, hoping to throw the girl off balance.

“I would never abandon my pokémon,” she replied, then turned away from him, choosing to focus her attention on his dragonite. Dragonite looked at Lance unsure of what to do. Lance shrugged. “It’s so cute!” she said, grinning up at the dragon.

Lance wasn’t sure if he was hearing things. Had Lyra just called Dragonite cute? Cute wasn’t a term he’d associate with dragons in general. He wasn’t sure whether to be offended by this or not. This Lyra was going to dethrone him? Yeah, right. “Hmph,” was his response. Not the most intelligent comeback, but he couldn’t afford to reveal his identity to this trainer. Besides, he was supposed to be searching for a rogue raticate, not chatting to females.

She stared at him for a few moments longer then averted her gaze. She did not blush, like so many others of the female race did. That was a good thing though. The only female he could speak to that did not turn into a gushing fangirl was Clair, but that was understandable because they were related. “You should leave. It’s not safe here,” Lance started.

“That’s exactly what I plan on doing. It’s not safe to be around you. You might try to steal one of my other pokémon next.” She started to head back in the direction where she had come from then stopped, looking back over her shoulder. The anger in her eyes dimmed, replaced by confusion. “How do I get to Azalea Town from here?”

“Keep on following the path and you’ll soon find yourself at Union Cave. Find your way through and you’ll reach Azalea Town in no time,” he replied. “Don’t you have a map?”

Her eyes widened. “I forgot it.”

His grandfather had to be wrong about this girl. There was no way this Lyra could beat him. She was far too clueless and innocent. “Take mine. Take it as an apology for the gible incident,” he said, handing her one of his many maps. She took it, folded it carefully then placed it in her bag. “And I’m serious about leaving. This forest isn’t safe. I’m not the one you should be afraid of.”

She frowned. “I never said I was afraid of you.”

This wasn’t going the way he wanted it to go. He was supposed to be in control of the situation and instead, this girl was gaining the upper hand, making him out to be the foolish one. How the girl had even managed to make it this far without tripping over her own two feet was a miracle. “Whatever,” he murmured. He hoped to put this embarrassing moment behind him so he could continue carrying out his duties as Champion.

She gave him one last look then retreated, allowing him to carry on his business.

.

Pulling down his hood, the man stepped inside the sliding glass door and joined the long queue. There were many people travelling to Kanto to escape the harsh winter of the Sinnoh region. It was just his luck that he had chosen the busiest time to purchase a ticket. He was aware that he was being watched – after all, he was the only person in the building who had chosen to wear a black cloak, rather than settle for a thick jacket like everyone else – but he didn’t care.

All he wanted was his ticket so he could escape this godforsaken weather for a couple of months. Running around in the snow and risking being assaulted by snowballs wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time. Leaving Sinnoh temporarily was the best thing he could do for himself and his pokémon – his dragon-types hated the cold. The cold made them sluggish.

Someone tapped him on the back. Holding back a bitter response, he turned around and raised his eyebrows expectantly. Two female teenagers, a blonde and a brunette, looked back at him. The blonde tried to hold back a giggle. “Can I help you?” he said. He didn’t receive a response. The girls were too busy trying not to laugh. He turned around again and sighed. Stupid teenagers.

As soon as he had turned around to face the front again, he heard one of the girls’ whisper, ‘scarface’. There was once a time he would’ve taken offense to those comments, but he had gotten accustomed to it after several years of hearing the same old insults. It was one of the reasons he chose to wear a hood – it made it harder for people to see the scar that ran a diagonal line across his right cheek.

It was a battle scar obtained in battle during a heated battle against a garchomp, but to other people, they simply viewed it as something to be laughed at. He ignored their giggles and shuffled forward, glancing at the television screen in upper right-hand corner of the room. Watching television was a good way to kill some time – it also meant he could drown out the noise of the idiots surrounding him.

“Here’s Sherry, with all the gossip you could ever want! Thanks, Michelle! Sinnoh Champion Cynthia has been spotted hanging around with former Champion of Hoenn Steven Stone – is this a possible romance for the stunning trainer? Pewter’s gym leader Brock announces the opening of a new restaurant, called Hard Rock Café opening soon in Kanto! Edward Blackthorn showing signs of ill health – could he be sick?”

Edward Blackthorn sick? It couldn’t be… He waited for more news to be announced regarding Blackthorn, but no more was said. The two girls went back to discussing the relationship between Cynthia and Steven and gushing over the possibilities of a possible marriage. He rolled his eyes and turned away, repulsed. Journalists. They were parasites.

But they did tell the truth… partially anyway. Most of the facts were often exaggerated, but there had to be a story in the first place. The Blackthorn Clan Elder sick. It shouldn’t be surprising that he was sick considering his age, but it was so much more significant since the elder was his father - the same man responsible for banishing him from Blackthorn City.

“Hello, how may I help you today?” the woman said.

He tore his eyes away from the screen. “I would like a one-way trip to Kanto.” Originally, he was going to purchase a return ticket, but the news of his father’s passing had changed things. He imagined there was going to be a political warfare over who was the rightful heir - if he hadn’t been banished, he would be the clan elder. His banishment however made that impossible. It would skip him and go to the next male in line – Lance. His son, the boy he had been forced to abandon due to his banishment.

“No intention of returning to Sinnoh?”

“Plans have changed.”

“That’ll be five-hundred dollars. Name, please?”

“Jacob.”

Five-hundred dollars? Prices sure had increased by a lot since last winter. A one-way trip cost three hundred just last year. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out five one hundred-dollar notes and handed them to the lady. She seemed surprised that he had that amount but took it anyway and printed out his ticket with his name imprinted on the front.

“You may board the ship now if you wish, but the ship won’t be leaving for another two hours. You can choose to sit in the lounge – there’s a bar, dining area and even free public computers to use if you find yourself bored. You can even have a shower to freshen up before the long trip.”

.

“What a strange person,” Lyra said aloud exiting the forest. She sat at the boundary, underneath one of the trees to catch her breath after the chase. Totodile snuggled up against her. Lyra’s thoughts drifted back to the weird trainer. He wore all black, had messy red hair that stuck out in random angles, and he wore a funny looking black cape. Who walked around with a cape anyway? And Joey had thought her outfit was ridiculous… Which well, it kinda was now that she thought about it. I really need to update my look if I want other trainers to take me seriously.

She wondered who he was. He had what seemed to be a fully evolved dragon with him meaning he must be a trainer of an exceptional level. For someone who had a fully evolved dragon, he certainly didn’t look like a dragon trainer. She had always assumed trainers with dragons were bulky, but that was probably just a stereotype. This guy was tall and not overly muscular. He didn’t seem that old and she suspected he was in his mid to late teenage years. He wasn’t that bad on the eyes either. She mentally slapped herself for thinking that. How could she find a guy somewhat attractive especially since he just tried to steal her pokémon?

Was he just some wandering trainer or someone more important? A gym leader? An elite four member? Perhaps… even the Champion? She laughed out loud at the stupidity of that thought. No. Of course not. Why would the Champion be near Azalea Town? The Champion would be smart enough not to attempt to steal another trainer’s pokémon. Besides, she imagined whoever the Champion was he had far more important things to do than stroll through the towns meeting the locals and hanging out in dark places.

Although she had little interest in the league before, now she wished she knew more about it. Who was the Champion? She knew little about the former champions, Red and Blue. All she knew was they came from the same place of Pallet Town and that they were rivals from a young age. Blue was apparently a very unfriendly and cocky Champion according to various media sources, and Red was silent, but honourable, Champion.

And what of the current one? She knew nothing. Was he also a jerk like Blue? Or modest and friendly? Was he old or young? Handsome or plain? So many questions and she had no answers to any of them. Oh well, she thought. Not knowing made the journey to becoming the Champion herself much more interesting without knowing anything about the league members.

Totodile yawned, and Lyra yawned as well. The past hours had been tough. They hadn’t had a decent rest since winning against Falkner. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep under the shade of the trees.

.

It hadn’t taken Lance long to locate the raticate. The footprints and half-rotten berries on the ground made it easy to track it down. He looked at it now, keeping a safe distance. There was no telling what this creature would do. The raticate stared back at him, hissing. A glob of saliva ran down the right side of its mouth. “There’s nothing we can do to cause the raticate to return to its former evolution, but we can put him down for a while,” he said, looking at Dragonite. Dragonite nodded, understanding. He spread his wings and flapped sending forth a powerful gust of wind, which threw the raticate back into a tree, immediately knocking it unconscious.

He was about to check up on the fainted raticate for signs of severe damage when two Team Rocket grunts stepped out from behind some bushes. The grunts looked like the ones he had encountered earlier before in the Slowpoke Well. “Looks like Ariana was right. The Champion walked right into our trap,” said the female grunt who he remembered as Julia.

“He just couldn’t help himself. Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Julia’s companion sneered.

Dragonite growled. “What did you do to the raticate?” Lance said.

Julia cracked a grin. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Our great leader Archer found a way to force pokémon to evolve! It’s not at full strength yet, but when it is, Team Rocket will gain control of the world!”

Lance thought hard. The signal from the unknown radio station. Had Team Rocket found a way to emit waves to force pokémon within range to evolve? If he was correct in that assumption they were in serious trouble. The signal might not be completed yet, but judging what had happened to the raticate, he didn’t want to know what it could do once the signal was at full strength.

“For every grunt you take down, another one will take the fallen one’s place. We have unlimited numbers and we’re scattered all over the region. There are not enough gym leaders to take us all on,” Julia taunted, lips curving into a maniacal grin. “Consider this as a warning – the end is coming and it’s all going to start at the Slowpoke Well.”

Lance frowned. “Slowpoke Well? I thought you were done there.”

“We were stalling for time. Ariana lured you deeper into the well allowing Proton and his grunts to enter the normal way. Coming after her was a foolish idea. You just made it easier for us.” She smirked, then spun around and ran deeper into the forest, her partner following right behind her. Lance was half-tempted to go after them but following Team Rocket members into dark unknown places was not a good idea.

“Arceus’s breath,” he cursed. Lyra was heading towards Azalea Town now and would most likely get caught up in the Team Rocket mess. He was supposed to look out for her as the Elder had said, not get her into trouble. He turned around and stormed through the forest, an equally annoyed Dragonite stomping behind him. Would he be too late?


	7. Under Threat

It was another miserable day in Blackthorn City. Storm clouds had rolled over the city overnight, cutting out the powerlines and causing severe damage to many of the buildings. The clouds still hung over the city, blocking out the sun, but the lightning and thunder had long since passed. Now there was only rain, but that itself was a problem. The grounds were already soaked – they could not absorb any more rain. Continuous rain would lead to problematic flooding.

Although the city was built into the side of a mountain, some of the buildings were prone to floods. The pool in front of the Dragon’s Den was partly to blame for this. Large amounts of rain often caused the pond to overflow, and bucket loads of water would pour out the side and into the local households. Flooding wasn’t the only problem Blackthorn faced – earthquakes and landslides in summer and avalanches in winter also caused major problems. Fortunately, such disasters did not occur frequently.

Clair ducked inside the den, removing her cape. She dried it off as best as she could then put it back on again. The Dragon’s Den was not only her home, but also her number one training spot. Dragon tamers from Johto and Kanto came here to hone their skills, hoping they could one day become the world’s greatest dragon master. She often mocked the trainers – none of them could ever hope to come close to her level.

So, it was no surprise that more than half the population of Blackthorn disliked Clair. She was respected, but not popular. Even the trainers she had selected for her gym weren’t fond of her. But she didn’t care. She was powerful. They were not. They just had to accept that. She looked around the cave, searching for her next victim. Two young female identical twins caught her eye. Clea and Gil. The twins each had a dratini in their possession. The dratinis should’ve evolved by now, but they hadn’t. Clair suspected it was because Clea and Gil were lousy dragon tamers. In fact, Clair was convinced they were the weakest of the dragon tamers within Blackthorn, a statement she often liked to rub in their faces.

“You two. Come over here now,” Clair called out, pointing a finger in their direction.

The two twins were standing on one of the upper levels of the den. Upon hearing their names, their eyes widened when they noticed Clair looking at them. They exchanged a nod and came down the steps and walked over to answer Clair’s summons.

“What do you want Clair?” Clea said, flicking a strand of brown hair away from her face.

“We battled you yesterday and the day before that. Why can’t you pick on somebody else?” Gil whined.

Smirking, Clair tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “You don’t have to battle me – but if you don’t, I’m not going to let you back in here to train,” she stated smugly.

The twins exchanged bitter looks. Clair knew that expression all too well. It meant they were not at all pleased and thought her demands were unfair. “Fine. But you don’t have go so tough on us. We didn’t even have a chance to attack in the last match,” Clea complained, pouting.

Clair crossed her arms over her shoulder and snorted. “I’m a gym leader and a dragon master. I am not going to go easy on you,” she said. “I don’t go easy on anyone. Show me how much you have improved.” She reached down to her pokébelt and threw out her mascot pokémon, a kingdra. The water dragon jumped into the pond of water and glared at the two twins.

The twins threw their pokéballs at the ground. A twin pair of dratinis appeared, and the two dove into the water. Other wild dratini called the pond their home, but they always stayed out of the battles. “Kingdra, again?” Gil said. “That’s not fair!”

“Quit being such babies and show me you are worthy enough to call yourselves dragon tamers,” Clair snapped. “Kingdra, use Dragon Pulse!” A purple beam of dark energy burst from Kingdra’s mouth, striking one of the dratini. The dratini fainted immediately. It was well-known dragons were super strong against their own type.

Gil muttered and retrieved her fainted dratini. Clea stepped forward. “Dratini, use Dragon Tail!”

“Kingdra, dodge!”

Kingdra easily evaded the physical blow and retaliated with another powerful beam of Dragon Pulse. The dratini fainted and the battle was over as quickly as it had begun. Clair smirked. “I see not much has changed. You are both still weak and you will remain weak. You have no right to call yourselves dragon tamers.”

“You haven’t even evolved your dragonairs yet, so you can’t complain about us being weak!” Gil protested.

“Gil!” Clea scolded.

So, the twins thought they could insult her pokémon? Clair stepped forward. “I’ll have you know I am purposely preventing my twin dragonairs from evolving.” That was a lie. Her dragonairs weren’t experienced enough yet to evolve. She knew she could eventually reach that level – just not right now. “Get out of here.”

Shooting Clair hateful looks, the twins retreated from the cave with their fainted dratinis back in their pokéballs. She recalled Kingdra back to its pokéball and did a victory dance in celebration of her brilliance. So what if she was hated? She was the best. Well, second best. Lance was the only trainer she could not beat, not even when he was at his worst.

“Clair!”

Clair spun around annoyed she had been interrupted during her self-praising session. A male wearing red and black clothing stood at the entrance, running a hand nervously through his coal-black hair. She recognized him as Mike – the final gym trainer in her gym. He was probably the only person in Blackthorn, aside from her grandfather and Lance, that liked her company. Some labelled his admiration as a crush, but that was just wild gossip.

“What do you want, Mike?”

“Pokémart… it’s been raided!”

“What?” The pokémart raided? That wasn’t possible. Hardly anyone came to this city because it was such a difficult place to get to. Only the strongest of trainers made it here. “Impossible.”

“Come and see it for yourself.” Mike headed back outside, and Clair quickly chased after him, cape flapping behind her. It was darker now than it had been moments ago. It seemed as if another storm had come through. A breeze blew through the city, so strong it almost knocked her off her feet. She quickly regained her composure and followed Mike towards the pokémart.

Mike was correct. The place had been totally thrashed. How could it be something like this could happen in such a few short moments? There had been no signs of any problems before. The shelves had fallen, and all stocked items sprawled out on the ground. Hundreds, no, thousands of dollars lay before her feet damaged beyond repair. Whoever had done this… knew exactly what they were doing.

She turned to the cashier, a young female assistant. The girl cowered behind the register, as if afraid the thief had returned. “What happened here?” Clair demanded.

The girl peeked over the register, sobbing. “It was a man… he was dressed in black clothes… he wore a hat with a skull cross on it…” She took in a deep breath and continued. “He got mad because we didn’t have a rope… and thrashed the place…” The girl broke down in sobs.

Tapping her foot on the ground, Clair gave the girl an irritated look. “Did he say where he went? Speak girl.”

“He said… he said they were going towards the Dragon’s Den…”

Dragon’s Den. She had just exited the place and had seen no signs of any intruders. Besides, the old man guarding the den would’ve notified her of any suspicious behaviour. She looked around the shop again, taking in all the damage. But then again, someone who had done this much damage would have no problem forcing their way into the Dragon’s Den.

Without saying another word, she dashed outside, Mike following close behind. It was raining hard now. It was almost impossible to see anything, but she knew her way to the Dragon’s Den even with her eyes closed, having walked that path many times. She took that path again, jumped into the pond and swam across.

Once inside, she darted her eyes around the cave, looking for a suspicious character. The den was quiet now. Completely silent. That made her nervous. Even if there were no trainers around, she could always hear dratini playing around in the pool. But there was nothing. Had the dratini sensed danger?

And what of her grandfather? He spent most of his life at home, studying dragon lore and his visions. But she could not hear him. Perhaps he was still asleep? “I’m going to check up on my grandfather. You stay here and keep guard. Call out if you see anyone.” Mike nodded.

Clair hurried over to her house. She was surprised to find the door unlocked. Pushing it open, she stepped inside and looked around. The broken photo frame of Lance and his team was still on the floor. Clair carefully stepped around it and called out her grandfather’s name. Nothing. No response at all. Fortunately, the house seemed untouched.

She looked around some more then froze in place upon hearing a tapping noise coming from one of the rooms. Her grandfather’s room to be precise. “Grandfather?” she called out again, ramming against the door with her shoulder. The door opened and she stumbled inside and found her grandfather tied to a chair, arms and legs held by a rope. There was a white tape over his mouth preventing him from making any audible noise. Her jaw dropped open.

Rushing over to her grandfather, she removed the tape and started to loosen the rope. “Clair! Thank goodness you are all right,” he said, in between heavy gasps.

She threw the rope onto the ground and kicked it away. “What happened?”

“This man burst in through the doors, demanding to know where the sacred dratini was,” the old man explained, hanging his head down. “I could not stop him from locating the dragon.”

“The sacred dratini is gone?” Clair almost shrieked. The dratini was special because it knew a move no other dratini knew. She also had a different colour; her skin wasn’t blue like the others, but rather a bright shade of pink. Her grandfather called it a shiny, an exceptionally rare pokémon.

Clair had wanted it for herself, but the man had said no. She had even tried stealing it one day out of jealous rage. That action had her temporarily replaced by her grandfather himself for a week while she had to read books on becoming a better trainer. After that, she had tried to convince she didn’t need another dratini. Besides, pink totally wasn’t her colour. The dratini would be given to someone who had earned it. She had scoffed at that. Her grandfather probably wanted to keep it for himself and had thought up that lame excuse, but she could not be angry at him now.

“You must… not do anything rash, Clair… Your place is at the gym.”

“I need to find the dratini.”

He shook his head. “You must inform Lance.”

It always came back to Lance. Just because he was the Champion did not mean he got to play hero all the time. She was just as deserving of that title. “He doesn’t need to do everything. You can trust me to do the right thing!” Clair spat. “I am strong enough to handle this!”

“Go back to the gym, Clair.”

She clenched her jaw. “Why don’t you trust me? Is it because I haven’t passed your stupid test yet? Is that it?” she retorted, her irritation growing at a rapid pace. Or was it because she was a female? All her ancestors that had risen to the ranks of dragon master had been male. She was the only female to achieve that rank, or at least was close to it. Her grandfather did not reply. “Fine. I’ll go back to the gym since that’s the only thing you think I’m capable of doing!” she spluttered.

She spun around on her heel and stormed out of the building.

.

To reach the next city, Lyra had to take the path through Union Cave. Fortunately, it was easy to get through even without knowing flash. There were a few bothersome fire and ground trainers in the way, but Totodile handled it well. Of course, before she had even thought about entering the cave, she had to finish her business with the fisherman Henry. The battle had been short, but the fisherman’s attitude had not improved at all. So much for battling to calm the mind, she thought.

Now she was out of the cave and she was glad for that. Her pokémon had once again gotten stronger; Starly had learned Wing Attack and Gible had learned Dragon Rage, a powerful early move that hurled a large flaming ball of draconic energy at an opponent. Gible still had his problems, but he seemed less likely to cause trouble the more experience he obtained.

Fortunately, Azalea Town was cooler than Cherrygrove City, but it was still warm. At least she didn’t have to wipe away sweat beads from her face every few seconds. The town was much smaller than Violet City and there was less to do. She had bypassed a well earlier which was blocked by some weird guy dressed in black with a pirate hat.

Aside from the well, the only other place worth visiting was Charcoal Kiln, Kurt’s house, and the gym. Charcoal didn’t sound like something she needed now though as her bag was full of stuff already. That reminded her she needed to store her egg at the pokémon centre to retrieve later. But before doing that, she headed to Kurt’s house.

“Hello?” she said, tapping on the door.

The door opened a few seconds later an elderly man walked out. “You are here to turn apricots into pokéballs, aren’t you? I would love to assist but I’m afraid I have an emergency to attend do,” he said, stepping outside. He closed the door then looked her up and down. “Say… you look like a fine trainer. You might be able to help me. A group of criminals have taken over the Slowpoke Well. They’re cutting off the tails of the innocent pokémon. They must be stopped at once. Meet me at the well when you are ready, and we’ll take them on together.” Before she could get another word in, the old man hobbled away and towards the Slowpoke Well.

“Cutting off slowpoke tails? What sort of horrible person would do such a thing?” she said, looking at Totodile. Totodile looked angry, a soft growl escaping through his throat. “We’ll go to the pokémon centre first.” There was one more trade she wanted to do. The Slowpoke Well sounded dangerous. She wanted to heal her team up before entering.

She headed up to the trading place upstairs and placed her zubat in the machine. The trading screen came up and she searched for Hoenn pokémon. Several interesting pokémon caught her eye, but it was the bagon, another dragon type, that captured her interest. She didn’t know what it was, but she felt drawn to the reptilian looking pokémon. Pokémon with scales and talons appealed to her greatly. A girl called May was offering one up for trade willing to accept anything in return.

“Bye bye Zubat!” she said almost tearfully, as she agreed to make the trade.

She hoped Bagon was less trouble than Gible otherwise she’d never get anywhere.

.

Training Bagon should’ve been her first task, but Lyra was eager to solve the problem down at the Slowpoke Well. Besides, there should be some pokémon to train against down there anyway so Bagon would get the experience it desperately needed. She climbed down the ladder, touched the floor, and noticed Kurt leaning against the stone wall. He was groaning and rubbing his back.

He turned to her now, relieved she was there. “I chased down one of the grunts and unfortunately I took a fall. I’ll need some time to recover, so you’ll have to go inside and investigate for me,” Kurt said.

Go into a deeper part of the well all by herself to face off against some criminals? That didn’t sound wise, but Kurt wasn’t looking well. She glanced down at Toto and put on a brave face. Of course, she wasn’t alone. She had her pokémon with her. She stepped inside and was instantly overcome by a powerful feeling of disgust.

Slowpoke were everywhere she looked, and every single one had a stump for a tail. Whoever had been behind this catastrophe certainly had a cruel and twisted mind. The pain the slowpoke were feeling… it had to be horrible. She navigated around them carefully, making sure she did not accidentally run into one. The slowpoke looked at her with sad, round eyes. Unable to look at them without feeling her heart break into two, Lyra pulled her gaze away focusing on the path ahead.

The cave was bland aside from the Slowpoke. There was a large pool of water and a lot of stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. The criminals had to be hiding somewhere. Just to be prepared, she called out her other three pokémon. Bagon, Gible and Toto huddled around her, while Starly sat on her head. Further up ahead, she could hear voices.

“…The Champion isn’t here anymore … he must’ve escaped…”

“…Nevermind the Champion, he can’t stop Team Rocket…”

“…Archer will be so pleased. Do you think he’ll give us a raise?”

Team Rocket? As in, the same Team Rocket that terrorized them several years ago? Hadn’t they been defeated by Red? It had been all over the news. Lyra crept forward, quickly ducking behind some stalagmites. Three male youths stepped into her view, all dressed completely in black uniforms. The trio each wore a black hat with a skull cross symbol emblazoned on the front. Gible made a funny noise. It sounded much like the sound one experienced when they were feeling hungry. Lyra shut her eyes, hoping they would not notice her.

“Hey, did you hear that? Some funny rumbling noises. I think we’re being followed,” said the first, a short stocky male with black hair.

“I thought you took out the old geezer?” said the middle youth, with the ginger hair.

The third male, a youth with dirty blond hair answered. “I did. He fell. Perhaps he had an accomplice we weren’t aware of?”

The stocky one spoke. “Never mind. We’ll find the intruder and we’ll crush him.” The other two males chuckled. The three moved together, weaving through the stalagmites with ease. Gible’s stomach rumbled again, this time a little louder than before.

“There’s that noise again! It’s coming from over there!”

Lyra winced. They were done for now. She stood up from her hiding spot. The three rocket grunts stopped, looked at her than exchanged laughs. “Oh look, it’s a little girl! Did you run away from your farm, girl?”

“She’s a trainer. I can’t believe they allow people as funny looking as that become trainers. What hole did you crawl out of?” said the ginger. He reached down and grabbed a pokéball and advanced towards her, giving her a sly look. “She doesn’t look tough at all.”

“Yeah, let’s send this girl back to the farm.”

Lyra glanced over her shoulder, searching for a possible escape route. There was only one she could see and that was the entrance. But she couldn’t run – not now. She had promised to help Kurt. The Slowpoke relied on her. “I’m not a farm girl.” As soon as she left this cave, she was totally going to update her look.

Each of the three male youths threw out their pokéballs. Two rattatas and a zubat appeared. Lyra’s eyes widened. Three pokémon all at once? “Farm girl looks shocked,” the ginger said.

“That’s not fair!” Lyra blurted out.

“We’re Team Rocket. We don’t play fair. You play by our rules,” said the blonde. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to battle or are you too afraid to take us all on?”

She glanced down at the pokémon. Gible, Bagon and Totodile all looked eager to battle. Starly licked her face indicating she wanted to fight too. “I accept your challenge,” she said, trying to sound confident. But the truth was she felt quite nervous. The trio looked as if they had fought together as a team many times before. This was her first time. How would her team fare against this experienced triple team?

The stocky male spoke again, pulling Lyra out of her worries. “Farm girl has dragons. You think she’s part of the infamous Blackthorn Dragon Clan?”

“Nah, she doesn’t look half as dumb as they do,” answered the blond. “But even if she has two dragons, she won’t stand a chance against our combined power!” He pointed a finger at her, and grinned. “Don’t go crying to your mummy when you lose,” he jeered.

The ginger-headed boy spoke. “What’s a little girl like you doing out here on your own anyway?”

She was beginning to tire of these insults. Farm girl. Little girl. She was neither of those things. She was a fourteen-year-old female who was going to be the Champion of Johto and Kanto. “The name is Lyra. I’m a trainer and I’m going to defeat you.” She hoped she sounded intimidating, but the trio just laughed. Okay, she thought. That didn’t work.

“You talk big for a girl. Can you back it up?” the stocky one taunted.

Lyra stepped forward, silently praying for a miraculous victory.


	8. True Strength

Battling the three grunts at the same time was difficult. They knew each other’s moves extremely well while Lyra was still mastering her strategy. Both the rattatas struck hard and fast with Quick Attack, while the zubat threw a Leech Life on Toto’s head. Lyra’s team began to show signs of fatigue, and she hadn’t even had the chance to land an attack yet. Bagon, having no battling experience, looked ready to faint. She did what was best for her pokémon, and called it back into his pokéball, and sent forth Starly to take over. Gible and Toto fared a little better.

“Gible, use Tackle!” Gible hit one of the rattatas. The rattata stumbled backwards. Now it was Toto’s turn. “Water Gun, Toto!” Toto uttered a growl and jumped forward, drenching the other rattata with water. The wet rattata shook its body to dry itself off. “Starly, use Tackle!” Starly threw her weight against the zubat, knocking the bat out of the air.

“Not bad, farm girl. But we’re only just getting started,” taunted the blond. “Rattata, use Tackle!”

“Rattata, use Tackle as well!”

“Supersonic!”

The rattates tackled her pokémon. Her team retaliated, pushing them back. Fortunately, Supersonic missed. That brought great relief to Lyra. Having four pokémon against two would be a battle she couldn’t hope to win. “Gible, Tackle again! Starly, Wing Attack! Toto, Tackle!” she barked out her commands, and her trio took the offense. One of the rattatas fainted. The blonde’s rattata.

He replaced the fainted rattata with a zubat. _Not another one,_ Lyra groaned. “Supersonic!”

“Supersonic!”

“Tackle!”

This time one of the Supersonics hit. Starly’s eyes turned a misty grey, and the avian started flying around in circles and randomly dove towards the ground. She hit herself and stumbled. Gible and Toto were beginning to look tired now. Lyra knew they couldn’t withstand more rounds of this. “Gible, Tackle! Toto, Water Gun!”

Luck finally started to shine in her favour. Both her pokémon’s attacks hit the rattata and first zubat hard, bringing them both down. The owners looked surprised; stunned that some unknown girl could bring them down like that. “Ekans!”

“Rattata!”

Another rattata… and a purple snake? “Ekans, use Poison Sting!”

“Tackle, Rattata!”

“Supersonic!”

Another round of attacks and another round of damage taken. Starly was still confused and flying around in circles but managed to avoid an attack. Gible wasn’t so fortunate, taking two blows. Tackle threw him back and Poison Sting made him sick. Gible turned a shade of purple and winced. _Oh no,_ Lyra thought. “Poisoned!” She didn’t have an Antidote on her. Her only hope was to get to the pokémon centre to cure Gible of poisoning before the poison caused Gible to faint.

“Give up?” the ginger taunted.

“Never,” Lyra replied. Her heartbeat quickened. Things weren’t looking so good. Gible needed immediate help, but she couldn’t flee in the middle of a battle. She had to fight and hope Gible could last the round. All her hopes rested on Toto now. “Gible, Tackle. Toto, Water Gun!” Gible struck the rattata while Toto took aim at the ekans.

Ekans hissed upon impact. Rattata cried out once hit. “Ekans, Bite!”

“Supersonic!”

“Tackle!”

The snake lunged at Toto and tried to sink its fangs into Toto’s neck. Fortunately, Toto jumped out of the way in the nick of time. Gible, on the other hand, was knocked off his feet. He lay on the ground, murmuring, waving his limbs around. Lyra had no choice but to recall him. Being forced to fight while poisoned seemed cruel. Bagon returned to the battlefield looking a little nervous. Fortunately, Starly had recovered from the confusion and had now returned to her normal state.

“Wing Attack, Starly! And Toto, finish that rattata off with a Water Gun!” Lyra almost screamed. “Bagon, use Rage!”

Bagon uttered a weak roar and jumped forward, smoke exiting its nostrils. He hit the rattata soon after Toto had doing minimal damage, but it had been enough to cause the purple rodent to faint. Starly’s Wing Attack had taken out the zubat. The zubat fell to the floor, flapping its wings weakly.

“Oh no, I’m out of pokémon!” the stocky male said, falling to his knees.

“We clearly underestimated you,” the ginger said. “But I will finish you off. Ekans, use Bite!”

The snake lunged at Toto again, this time managing to sink its fangs into Toto’s neck. Totodile howled, and frantically shook himself trying to throw the snake off. Another zubat replaced the fallen zubat. _Not again,_ Lyra thought.

“Supersonic!”

Lyra was grateful Supersonic was inaccurate. “Starly, finish that ekans off with a Wing Attack! Bagon, use Rage again! Toto, end this battle, Water Gun!”

Her pokémon fed off her energy and threw themselves at their opponent. Both ekans and zubat fainted from the combined attacks. The two standing grunts also dropped to the floor, speechless. “Proton is going to be so mad… let’s get out of here before he finds out and asks the boss to dock our pay!” said the stocky male youth. His two companions agreed. They grabbed their pokéballs and raced out of the room before Lyra could say anything.

Although she had won, it did not feel like a victory. Gible had been poisoned, Bagon had been severely wounded and Starly and Toto were running low on energy. The grunts spoke of Proton like he was their superior. Another difficult battle awaited her. She continued moving forward as her pokémon struggled to keep up with her.

“…and that’s the last tail. Archer will be pleased.”

“You must be Proton,” Lyra said.

Proton was a tall adult male with aqua hair that stuck out on both sides of his head like protruding horns. As with the grunts she had just defeated, he wore black clothes, but his hat had no Team Rocket symbol. The other stand out difference was that he wore grey boots and had white wristbands, which Lyra noted, had dried blood patches on them. She screwed her nose up in disgust.

“You,” he said, stepping towards her, a slowpoke tail dangling in his left hand. “I trust you were the one causing the commotion back there?”

“Who are you people and why are you doing this?”

The man looked her up and down, clicking his tongue. “You’re a trainer. You look a little older than the usual ones though. A late bloomer, I trust? You are lucky to have gotten this far, but your journey will end here.” He pointed at her. “I’m Proton, one of the top trainers of the glorious Team Rocket and I challenge you to a battle. If you win, I’ll tell you some information. And if you lose… well, you get nothing.”

Gible was down. Bagon was too weak and inexperienced to take this fight. Starly was still new. This battle would be decided by her exhausted Totodile. The fate of slowpoke rested on her shoulders. She took in a deep breath and stepped towards Proton, crossing her finger, hoping this battle would be hers.

* * *

His xtransceiver vibrated. He immediately pulled it out and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Lance! You need to get back home now! It’s an emergency! The shiny dratini has been stolen!”

Lance pulled the xtransceiver away from his ear deafened by Clair’s shrill shouts. Once the girl had ceased her shouting, he pulled it closer and answered. “I’ll be there as quickly as possible.” He cursed, almost hurling his xtransceiver to the ground. Team Rocket. Damn thieves. Were they stationed in every single city throughout Johto? If so, there was no possible way he could stop them all.

Just the mental image of Team Rocket putting their filthy hands all over the shiny dratini made him sick. What did they want with the dragon? What was their game plan? So many questions, yet he had no answers. As much as he wanted to return home to rescue the shiny dratini, he had to make sure the Team Rocket grunts stationed here weren’t going to bring more harm to the slowpoke.

Clair could handle Team Rocket in Blackthorn. He had to look out for Lyra in Azalea Town and make sure the girl didn’t get hurt. Although he had been reluctant to keep an eye on her, he found he didn’t want to pull away just yet. Besides, he was the Champion and a good Champion had to look out for those in trouble, right? The girl could even lose control of her gible which could be rather catastrophic. Baby dragons running rogue could cause some major damage and most of the cities in Johto wouldn’t be able to cover the damage cost. He remained outside the well. Any sound of trouble and he’d come to the rescue. He just had to wait for the right moment to-

“Oh my Arceus, Lance!”

He jerked his head in the direction of the source of the voice. There was a girl running towards him, her blue pigtails bouncing with each step. Marina. “Oh no,” he mumbled, voice betraying fear. If there was one thing he feared, it was fangirls, not that he would openly admit that to anyone. Marina was the worst of them all. What in Arceus’s name was the girl doing here of all places? He thought about running away, but the girl was already close.

Marina lunged. Before Lance could make sense of what was happening, he felt himself getting squeezed tightly. Marina was hugging him so firmly as if she thought he was something soft, like a pillow. It was like she was afraid to let him go. “I have wanted to touch you for so long! Just writing about you in my fictional works just isn’t good enough,” she said, snuggling up against his chest. She ran both her arms up and down his arms, sighing happily.

Lance looked down, feeling awkward. Wrestling with dragons was tame in comparison to this girl. She was incredibly determined to hold onto him. She stuck to him even worse than one of Bugsy’s annoying bugs. “Marina, pleasure to meet you,” he said as politely as was possible when being hugged to death. He managed to pry the girl off him. “How did you know I was even here? I thought you’d be in Goldenrod?”

She smiled at beam, batting her eyelashes. “The nurse at the pokémon centre told me you were here! She’s part of the Lance fan club, silly.”

Ah yes, his personal fan club. How could he forget? He hadn’t checked the site out afraid it might scar his mind forever. Clair had informed Lance some of the stuff on that site was ‘pure gold’ and ‘rather steamy’. He was afraid what ‘steamy’ described. “Right. Of course.” Dragonite remained at the side, amused. The toughest trainer in Johto and Kanto, reduced to an awkward teenager, unfamiliar with such closeness to a female.

“Well, now that I have found you, you can answer the questions! The nurse has set up an open live chat so your fans can ask you questions.” She grabbed his arm, dug her nails in deep and dragged him away to the pokémon centre.

Lance glanced back at the well, concerned. Lyra needed his help. She couldn’t face the grunts that were down there on her own. She wasn’t strong enough. “I really need to go.” He attempted to leave, but Maria stood in his path.

“What are you doing? The centre is this way,” Marina demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.

Being rude to other people was Clair’s speciality, not his. He was only rude to people who deserved it, like Team Rocket members for example. Marina might be exceptionally annoying, but she wasn’t evil. They arrived at the pokémon centre and Lance was not surprised to find a laptop sitting on the counter. The nurse who had tended to him before stood beside it, smiling faintly, a red tinge on both her cheeks.

“Okay, girls! I found him! The best, and cutest, Champion ever, Lance!” Marina squealed into the laptop. “You know the drill, ladies. Just type your question, send it through the chat room and Lance will answer it live for you all to watch! Isn’t that great? Okay,” she said, glancing down at the screen. “The first question is from Rihanna, aged seventeen. Rihanna would like to know if you are single.”

The less information he gave, the better in this case. That meant the girls would have less information to work with. Best to be as vague as possible. After all, he was known as the mysterious, broody, and quiet Champion. It was best to try and uphold that image, not fight it no matter how much he wanted to. “Uh, yes.”

Marina winked at him. “Don’t forget to wave and smile in the camera. You are live, after all.” Lance mustered up a fake grin and waved into the camera feeling like a complete utter dolt. He could be doing so many other important things right now like stopping Team Rocket than dealing with this nonsense. “Next question comes from Hayley, aged sixteen. Hayley says she really likes your cape. She wants to know where she can buy one from.”

“Err, Celadon Department Store.”

Marina pulled out a notepad and pen and scribbled it down on the paper. Lance inwardly groaned. So, she was keeping track of this interview. Most likely she was going to post a transcript of the said interview onto her freaky fan site. He looked over her shoulder and caught the sentence, ‘likes capes. Buys them from Celadon Department Store.’

“Tina aged fifty-five. Tina wants to know if you could marry her daughter.”

This is getting rather creepy, Lance thought. It seemed like his fans cared nothing for his battling style. They only seemed to like him because he was the Champion and looked cool. “Not possible, sorry.” He wasn’t even past twenty yet. He had no desire at all to be wedded to some stranger. Heck, he had no interest in committing himself to a significant other. Being the ultimate dragon master and saving the world from evil were the only things that mattered to him. There was no time for love.

“Clair aged sixteen. Clair wants to let you know that you look ridiculous right now.” Marina frowned at that, and Lance immediately knew by the tone of those words, that it was his bratty cousin behind the screen. How on earth did she know the website link? Oh, that’s right. She read his letters. He experienced a fleeting emotion of fear. Did Clair have an account on there? What had she posted? Is that how she knew so much because she was a registered member?

“And final question. Rebecca, aged sixteen. She would like to know if it’s true that you sleep with a dragonite plushie. She says she hopes it’s true because that would be cute. She also adds that she has bought one to remind her of you.”

Damn Clair. “No. That’s false information,” he answered in a quiet, controlled tone. Now he was really going to have to check out all the information about him on this website.

“Sorry ladies, but that’s all we have time for now. But don’t worry. There will be another chance for a live chat with the gorgeous Champion of Johto and Kanto. I’ll keep you updated! Keep checking ‘Lance Fans Unite’ every day for updates. Goodbye everyone.”

Thank Arceus that was over now. “I’d love to stay, but I really must be going. There’s someone I have to check up on,” Lance said, edging away from Marina and the nurse girl. As soon as those words left his mouth, he regretted them immediately.

“Oh! Has some lucky girl caught your eye?” Marina said, trying to sound polite, but he could see a sense of jealousy in the way her expression hardened.

He replied quickly, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. “No, not at all. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m on Champion business.”

She studied him for a few brief seconds then smiled. “Oh, all right then. That’s okay. Bye, Lance! So glad that I got to meet you in person! Don’t forget about my show in Goldrenrod City this coming weekend. I hope you’ll be there!” She waved him goodbye and he strode out the pokémon centre as fast as possible, not daring himself to look back.

That was possibly the most terrifying thing he had ever had to do.

* * *

The battle started, and immediately Lyra found herself at a disadvantage. His zubat’s Supersonic had struck gold causing Totodile to run around in circles, chasing after his tail. If she had been a spectator, she would’ve found it quite cute – but this was a serious battle and she desperately needed Toto with a clear mind.

“Toto,” she pleaded. “Use Water Gun!” Toto used Water Gun… but hit her instead. Now she was soaking wet.

Proton arched his neck back and released a booming laugh which echoed throughout the cave. He ceased his laughter and looked at her, waving a finger at her face. “Little girl, you should quit while you are behind. You could not possibly believe you could defeat me, an elite member of the mighty Team Rocket? Such foolishness shall be punished.” This time, Zubat used Leech Life.

Lyra clenched her teeth, trying her hardest not to emit a cry of frustration. She had to have faith in herself, and in her partner. “Toto… I know you can hear me…” she said, in a voice barely above a whisper. “I believe in you.” Toto’s eyes returned to their normal colour. He snapped his jaws, and sent forth a powerful Water Gun, knocking zubat out of the air.

Proton’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Hmph, you have some power. Zubat, Supersonic!” Zubat’s attack missed.

“Toto, use Water Gun again!” This time, Toto’s attack had done enough damage to take the bat down. Zubat was unconscious. Lyra almost did a victory dance when Toto stumbled and fell face first onto the ground. Her eyes widened. “Toto!” She ran to her partner’s side and knelt beside him, looking through fearful eyes. Toto was shaking. Was he in pain? She could not tell.

The convulsing continued, growing more powerful with each passing second. Lyra was beyond horrified now – what on earth was happening? She could only watch her loyal partner go through a period of suffering. The shaking came to a sudden stop. Lyra reached out a hand to touch her partner but drew it back immediately when Toto began to glow. She glimpsed at Proton. He looked more impressed than surprised. Whatever was happening to Toto couldn’t be a bad thing then.

The white light disappeared, and Toto was no longer there. A new creature stood in its place. A blue and yellow crocodile stood at her side, reaching to a height of Lyra’s shoulder. He had three clusters of red spikes on its body: one with three points on its head like a crest, one with two points on its back, and a diamond-shaped spike on its tail. It looked like Totodile, only it was taller, bulkier, and much more intimidating to look at.

The pokémon had black markings around its red eyes, giving it a rather imposing look. But what caught her eye was the asymmetrical, yellow pattern on the pokémon’s chest. It looked like spotted animal skin. She held up her pokédex to obtain new data.

_Croconaw. The second evolution of Totodile. If it loses a fang, a new one grows back in its place. There are always forty-eight fangs lining its mouth._

Her cute Totodile had evolved? So that explained the past few horrifying seconds. Totodile had simply been evolving. She looked at her Croconaw and smiled. “You had me worried there for a moment.” Croconaw smiled back, revealing a sharp row of fangs. Lyra felt sorry for any pokémon on the receiving end of a Croconaw’s bite. She turned to Proton. “This battle is far from over.”

“You’re lucky your pokémon evolved, but it’s not going to save you. Koffing!”

A round purple pokémon appeared, hovering in the air. Lyra couldn’t tell how it remained in the air for it had no wings at all. An unidentifiable gas shrouded the koffing. It had no smell, but it made her feel sick. Whatever it was, Lyra felt herself coming down with cold-like symptoms. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. Her pokédex provided a brief explanation.

_Koffing. Its thin, filmy body is filled with gases that cause constant sniffles, coughs, and teary eyes._

“Koffing, use Tackle!” Koffing tackled. Croconaw held its ground and pushed the koffing back.

“Croconaw, use Bite!” Croconaw opened his powerful jaws and sunk his fangs into the koffing’s armour. The koffing struggled to free itself against his grip.

“Koffing, use Smog!” Purple toxic gas exited through the holes in koffing’s body, travelling down Croconaw’s windpipe. Croconaw’s eyes widened. The reptile released his jaws, staggering back coughing. More tears flowed down Lyra’s face. She too coughed.

“Use Water Gun!” Lyra ordered, just as another cough left her. Croconaw turned a shade of purple. Poisoned, just like Gible. Time was running out. She needed to end this battle now or lose everything. Water Gun drenched the koffing, plugging its holes.

Proton cursed. “Infuriating reptile. Koffing, Tackle!” he spat. Koffing hurled itself at Croconaw. Once again, Croconaw held his ground.

“Use Bite!” Jaws sunk into the koffing’s rock hard body. Lyra was surprised Toto’s teeth didn’t break. The koffing wheezed, its eyes rolling back into its head. It flopped to the floor, unmoving.

“Impossible!” Proton exclaimed.

Realization that she had just won began to sink in. “We did it… We actually did it…”

“We will meet again, and next time, you won’t be so lucky!” Proton spat. He made a break for the exit, leaving Lyra alone in the Slowpoke Well. She broke out of her trance and threw herself at Croconaw, hugging the reptile tightly. “You did it, you did it! You saved the slowpoke!” she cheered.

“That was a magnificent battle! Perhaps…”

Lyra expected to see Kurt standing there, but instead she saw an adult female wearing a red kimono dress. She stopped dancing, looking a little embarrassed. How long had this lady been standing there for? “Oh. Um…”

“The way you battled against that evil man… the bond you share with your pokémon… perhaps you can… No. It’s too early to know yet,” the lady said, as if she was talking to more to herself than to Lyra. She looked at Lyra thoughtfully, and smiled. “There is much potential in you, dear girl. What you just did – is a miraculous achievement for one so inexperienced. I believe you will continue to do great things.”

Before Lyra could ask further questions, the kimono girl turned around and walked away. What had just happened there? Who was that lady? She thought about pursing the kimono girl when Kurt entered, huffing and puffing. He glanced around the well. “I saw two Rocket Grunts exit out the front. You saved the slowpoke.”

“It was nothing, really,” Lyra said.

“You did a great deed for Azalea Town, and you will be remembered as the trainer who saved the slowpoke. Please, come with me. You have earned yourself a warm meal and a nice bed for the night,” he said, leading Lyra back to his house. A nice bed and a good meal sounded good, she thought.

* * *

Lance hurried to the well, hoping he wasn’t too late. If Lyra had failed, which was highly likely considering she was just a rookie, then he’d blame himself for not being there. The whole scenario with Marina had been an excellent way to waste time. He made a mental note to disguise himself the next time he went into town, but it was so hard to part with his beloved cape.

What was this? He came to a sudden stop, ducking behind a building. Lyra and Kurt walked past. They were both smiling. Lance caught the words, ‘Team Rocket defeated’, and ‘saved the Slowpoke’ as they passed by. He also noticed the rather large Croconaw following behind Lyra. The girl had saved the Slowpoke and gotten her Totodile to evolve?

He had to admit. He was rather impressed and that did not happen very often. Most trainers were inferior, but this girl had defied the odds. It was such a big achievement for an inexperienced trainer. If someone had told him that a girl had defeated Team Rocket in her first few days as a trainer, he would’ve laughed if he hadn’t already seen the girl battle. His grandfather had been right after all. There was something truly special about this girl.

He hadn’t seen much of her, nor did he know much about her, but from what he had seen he could make the conclusion that she was a trainer worth watching. She battled with heart and passion. She was loyal and caring towards her pokémon. She fought for honour and justice. She had all the makings of being a dragon master if she were to decide to walk down that path. No wonder his grandfather wanted to look out for her. She had the qualities he wanted Lance to have.

Shame poured through him. He had doubted the girl, convincing himself she couldn’t handle Team Rocket, but she had proved him wrong and achieved what he had been unable to do. Drive Team Rocket away from Azalea Town and the Slowpoke Well.

His xtransceiver vibrated again, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Hello?”

“Lance!” Clair exclaimed. “Why aren’t you here yet? I’m not lying. Get here now!”

Oh, right. The stolen dratini. Clair was the one that needed supervising, not Lyra. He felt a little sad to be leaving now. He was curious to see how Lyra would continue to grow as a trainer, but duty called. “Come on Dragonite, you’ve got a long flight ahead of you. We have to head back to Blackthorn.” Dragonite nodded, lowering himself down a little, so Lance could climb onto his back. Once he was on, Dragonite jumped into the air and flew off towards home.


	9. Becoming a Legend

It was believed Mt Silver was uninhabitable by humans due to its wild terrain and rough unpredictable weather. There were four seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn, and each season brought with it such wild weather Mt Silver had earned itself another name - the Desolate Mountain. Courageous adventurers often tried to climb the highest peak in the region, but no one had ever made it past halfway.

Or at least that’s what the townsfolk believed.

“Pika, pika.” A little yellow rodent stepped out from the silver fern tree, and sniffed the ground, its ears standing erect. Its ears twitched. The rodent paused to observe its surroundings. It lowered its belly to the floor and stared directly ahead at some pine trees. The rodent relaxed when a human appeared from behind.

The human was a young male. A trainer to be precise. He wore a red cap backwards, dressed in simple denim jeans and wore a red and white jacket with a black shirt underneath. His eyes rested on the rodent, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards into a smile. The rodent rushed forwards and sat at the trainer’s legs, huddling up against him, as a powerful gust blew through the peak, sending a cold chill racing down his spine.

The trainer moved towards the mountain’s edge and looked down at the world below. The skies were abnormally clear today – usually, the peak was covered in thick cloud. He took it as a sign. When the clouds cleared it meant things were going to get interesting around here. Whether that was a good or a bad thing remained to be seen. He couldn’t see into the future, but he did know one fact – his time on Mt Silver was coming to an end.

The mountain had been his home for the past three years now braving the conditions with his team of loyal pokémon. Some days he regretted moving here – sometimes he wondered what life would’ve been like if he had stayed at the league to fulfil his duties as the Champion of the region. Sometimes, he missed the companionship other people provided. And other days, he was glad he made the decision to make Mt Silver his home.

He lived a simple life in small cottage he had built with assistance of his pokémon. He had no television, no fridge, no table… nothing at all, but a fireplace made of sticks in the centre of the house. He slept, and ate, on the floor. When he wasn’t sleeping or eating, he spent his daylight hours training his pokémon, perfecting his technique and the mastering the art of battling. No trainer in any region could match up to his skill and strength.

Even the current Champion of Johto and Kanto, could not hope to match him in battle. Although the Champion was skilled, his style was all wrong and lacked any real form of strategy. He relied on pure power alone, something Red wasn’t too fond of. It’s why he refused to battle Lance. He didn’t want to fight a trainer that was predictable, and he didn’t want to battle against someone who thought themselves as superior because they trained a certain type. All pokémon deserved to be treated equally, no matter what their type was.

Red wanted to battle someone who was a real Champion. Someone who shared a bond with their pokémon that was as strong as the one he shared with his. A bond so strong that even a legendary would sense it and bend to the will of that trainer. The legendaries he had captured had long since left his service.

The three elemental birds, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, had chosen to return to their homes and wait instead. As for Ho-Oh and Lugia, they were both in hiding, waiting for the next trainer with a pure heart to show themselves. Unlike the other legendaries, Red did not know if the two were even in Johto anymore.

He was a little surprised to catch a rare glimpse of a rainbow above the horizon. His moves moved to the end of the rainbow and spotted a large black dot. His senses told him Ho-Oh had returned, but not for him. Rainbows didn’t appear randomly like that. He arched his neck back, looking up. He had been right to assume this was a sign. A sign the next legendary trainer was eventually going to reach Mt Silver.

“Whatever happened to Red anyway?” Lyra said, after taking a sip from her mug of hot chocolate. It was still reasonably warm outside, but she couldn’t say no to a free drink.

Kurt sat down across the girl with his granddaughter sitting directly at his side. “Many believe Red moved to a different region after he had defeated the league. Some people even believe the boy had died.”

Lyra frowned, thoughtful. “What do you think happened to him?”

“I believe he still calls Kanto his home.”

“But why would he want to hide?”

Kurt cleared his throat. “Being a Champion is a huge responsibility. You are the most powerful trainer in the region; you represent the values and beliefs a trainer should have. You are the guardian of the land and it’s your duty to look out for the people,” he added, pausing to take a sip of his drink. “To become the Champion is one of the many reasons trainers take on this long journey. Many people want to be recognized for their talents and feel this is the best way to do this, but only a small percentage of trainers earn all eight badges. A tiny percentage of those fortunate trainers make it past Victory Road. And out of those fortunate trainers, only one percent will make it to the top.”

Lyra almost choked on a marshmallow. “One percent?” Her eyes were wide. One percent of trainers who made it to the league won the title? Her chances of claiming the trophy were looking rather slim now. “How does someone even make it that far then? How did Red manage to do it? Did people ask him?”

“Red was a rare case. He never spoke – whether he couldn’t speak or simply chose not to, we will never know. What became apparent throughout his adventures was that he was a different type of trainer. His connection with pokémon was stronger than those who had been trainers for decades. His mascot pokémon didn’t even need to reach its final evolution to win difficult matches. Some people even referred to him as Arceus’s Chosen One.”

“What pokémon did he use?” Lyra said, leaning forward. Hearing about Red’s legendary adventures made her admire him even more than she had in the past. Red had come from nothing, and yet he had gone on to forge a legend that would last forever. His adventures were inspiring.

“Lapras, Venosaur, Blastoise, Snorlax, Charizard and Pikachu,” Kurt said. “The media constantly made fun of his choices, especially Red’s pikachu. The pokémon never reached its final evolution, yet it displayed power a raichi didn’t have. Red proved all his critics wrong when he claimed the title from Blue. Some trainers today don’t wish to evolve their pokémon to the final stage hoping they can follow the steps his pikachu had created.”

Lyra took another sip of her drink. “I can see why people label him as legendary then.” She finished her drink and stood up, wiping her mouth clean of the chocolate. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Kurt smiled. “Thank you for saving the slowpoke. You have done a great deed here and you will be remembered for it.” Shifting his attention towards Croconaw, he added, “Go now and take on the gym challenge. Follow in the footsteps of Red. May Arceus watch over you,” he said, bowing. His granddaughter led Lyra out of the house, giving the girl a parting hug before Lyra exited.

She looked back and waved then made her way to the gym.

As he rode on the back of Dragonite, he couldn’t stop thinking about the events that had just passed. His thoughts were centred on a girl – a rookie fourteen-year-old female – which he found unsettling. The girl had done something he hadn’t been able to. His duty as Champion was to stop evil organizations like Team Rocket from bringing harm to the land, but she had taken that away from him.

She wasn’t the Champion of Johto and Kanto. She was just some trainer starting out on their journey to make it to the top. It wasn’t in her job description to take on criminals. That was supposed to be his task. And he had failed, just like he had failed to claim the title as Champion correctly. Lyra was too young and innocent to be thrown into this mess. But if he had been able to do his duty correctly, then she wouldn’t have had to be the one to save the slowpoke.

He needed a chance to prove to himself that he was worthy of being a true Champion. That he was worthy enough to be the head of the pokémon league. People expected their Champions to do great things – people still talked about Red’s legendary deeds even to this day. When people spoke of Lance, they often talked about his appearance and the power of his dragons, but never about his heroic achievements because he had none. An inexperienced trainer had saved the slowpoke. He wouldn’t be surprised if the girl somehow managed to save the shiny dratini as well. After all, hadn’t his grandfather seen in a vision Lyra was going to be the one to defeat Team Rocket?

“I’m the Champion,” he muttered, the wind brushing up against his skin, as Dragonite rode the currents. “And I’ll prove it. I’m the one people should be heralding as a hero. Not _her._ ” _Her._ Lyra. The local hero people were starting to praise as if she were the messiah. He grimaced, an unsettling sensation brewing in his stomach.

Suddenly, he saw the truth: he didn’t want Lyra getting herself involved with Team Rocket not because he wanted her to be safe, but so he would have the chance to finally prove he was a true Champion. He felt threatened by her the very moment his grandfather had said Lyra would be the one to save the world and dethrone him as Champion. He was rocked by another realization. He was jealous over a rookie female trainer. He, the world’s greatest dragon master and Champion of both Johto and Kanto, was worried because of some girl called Lyra!

How the rest of the region would laugh if they ever found out. He forced thoughts of Lyra aside, choosing to focus on the path ahead. He could see Blackthorn Gym now. They were close. The opportunity to stop Team Rocket would not escape from him. Not this time.

The trip to Kanto took five days by ship. Although the ship had its own fair share of luxury facilities, Jacob figured he might as well spend some time in the lounge. He was going to be staring at nothing else but the ocean for the next couple of days. Looking at the snow falling outside the window wouldn’t hurt.

He sat down at the far end of the ship, doing his best to distance himself as much as possible from the other passengers on board. A few people looked in his direction and whispered to their friends, but no one dared to speak with him. He spotted the group of girls that had laughed at him earlier on. They noticed him as well and traded excited whispers with each other, their eyes fixed on his face. It didn’t take a genius to know he was the topic of their conversation. He turned away, his attention landing on the newspaper beneath the opposite chair to him.

“My gible is stronger than your bagon!”

“No way! Bagon is better!”

“Gible!”

“Bagon!”

Jacob glanced over his shoulder and spotted two young male tamers engaged in an argument about their baby dragons. Both tamers appeared to be no older than twelve and he wondered why they were on this ship when they hardly looked like they had done much travelling at all. Their conversation had piqued his interest – anything involving dragons had his fill attention.

“I challenge you to a battle! I’ll show you that my gible is stronger!”

“I accept! Let’s battle!”

The two males stood up and walked to the centre of the ship, taking their battle positions in preparation for the fight. Other passengers on board turned their heads to watch while one passenger hurried away to call a guard. The first tamer summoned his gible and the other brought out his gagon.

“Use Tackle, Gible!”

“Use Bite, Bagon!”

The two dragons collided. Gible knocked the bagon onto its belly, but the bagon fought back, kicking its stubby legs out before clamping his jaws around the gible’s arm. It was like watching two kids in a schoolyard brawl – awkward and amateur. The dragons had great power and the tamers didn’t even know it. They needed to be taught a lesson. He focused his mind on the gible fighting.

Scientists around the world thought they knew everything there was to know about pokémon, but they only knew a small fraction. It was often believed pokémon had no emotions, that they simply relied on instinct for their decision-making, but Jacob knew that theory was false. Pokémon, at least the dragon-type, could feel emotions and these two dragons had been abused by their trainers.

He could feel their pain as if it were his own. There were no scars on their bodies, but the mental scars were deep. Both the gible and bagon had been physically pushed to the limit and beaten when they had shown signs of exhaustion. Anger poured through him. Dragons were sacred creatures, not mindless tools to be abused! He brought a hand to his right temple and concentrated his efforts on the bagon, venturing further into the pokémon’s mind.

_Turn against your tamer._

The bagon released its hold over the gible then turned around to face its tamer. Shock took hold of the boy’s face. “What are you doing? Finish him!”

Instead of attacking the gible, bagon turned his power against his tamer, ramming his head into the shins. The tamer toppled over, spluttering, and waving his hands like a fool, shouting obscenities at his dragon. Jacob lowered his hand thus ending the control he had over it. The bagon stopped attacking his tamer and remained still, an expression of confusion on his face. His tamer stood up and ran away, his sobs echoing throughout the ship.

Jacob sank back down in his seat rather pleased with himself. While his father had the ability to see into the future, he had been born with the power to control the minds of dragons. Powers that had been granted to them by the deep connection they had formed with their dragons. It was the reason his father banished him from the clan in the first place, though the man simply told the clan Jacob had broken the law and had to leave.

“Still up to your old tricks, Jacob?” a man said, breaking him out of his thoughts. At the sound of his voice, Jacob turned to study him. An elderly man wearing a blue coat with a white scarf hanging around his shoulders, sat down across from him, resting his walking stick on the seat. Pryce. The gym leader of Mahogany Town and a real thorn in his backside. “You are playing a dangerous game.”

Jacob snorted. “You’re the only person on board this ship who knows who I am and what I can do.” Leaning back in his chair, he folded his arms and gave her an impatient look. “Why are you here? I thought you were done being my father’s pet, or has he said you to watch me over again?” he added curtly.

“I am returning from a vacation in Sinnoh. Why are you on board this ship?”

“On vacation. Like yourself.”

Pryce didn’t flinch. “You have heard the news about your father then?”

“It’s hard to avoid when it’s all over the news.”

“Your father is tired, Jacob. He has a difficult job balancing his duties between being the Clan Elder and raising your son and niece, whom I might add are the reasons behind his ill health. Your son is proving to be a real concern to your father.”

Jacob gave him a long hard stare. “And what do you expect me to do? The boy doesn’t even know me. I’m a stranger to him. You should know that – you were there when my father gave me my sentence.” He had been forced to stand on a podium, with his head and arms in a pillory, while the tamers threw various food items at him while his sentence was read out. The process had taken a couple of hours until he was finally released and forced to leave everything behind.

“It was a sentence you deserved. You enslaved the mind of the rogue dragonite when you should’ve allowed my ice-types to deal with the situation. Yet, you willingly broke the law of your clan to obtain power for yourself, thus endangering the lives of your people. Your father did right in banishing you.”

Jacob leaned back in his chair. “Is this why you speak to me now? To bring up events of the past? To shame me? Is that your intention?” He narrowed his eyes, giving a sardonic laugh. “Save your words, Pryce. I’ve lost too much to even care anymore.” Since being banished from the clan over two decades ago, he had been living in Sinnoh, earning money by defeating other trainers on the routes. He had heard himself referred to as one of the ‘wild trainers’ which was an insult used to classify those who had no place to call home.

“You could return home.”

“Beg for forgiveness? No. I’d rather die.”

“I can see where Lance gets his stubbornness from…” Pryce murmured. “Your son walks down the same path of self-destruction you once took. If you wish to allow your family name to be further shamed, then you will stand by and do nothing, but hide. I can see why my old friend is worried – when he dies, the clan dies with him.”

The ice-type gym leader stood up, wrapped his fingers around the handle of his walking stick, then walked away, leaving Jacob feeling like he had just taken a dive in a tub of ice. Seeing Lance after all these years would be an interesting experience.

As soon as Lyra stepped inside, she felt her insides tighten. It was like she had stepped into a forest again, only this one was populated with trainers and cobwebs. The deep dark seemingly bottomless pits only added to her already nervous state.

“Welcome to the Azalea Gym! This gym is led by Bugsy, a specialist bug-type trainer. To get across, you simply must climb on the right spider. Step on the wrong one and you’ll find yourself at a dead end, or facing one of the trainers,” the gym advisor said. “Make sure you have at least one flying-type on your team.”

She thanked him for his advice and stepped towards the first set of three spiders. Getting on the back of one those things made her feel a little squeamish – she was no fan of bugs. But upon closer inspection, she noticed they were mechanical and not actually real spiders. That made her feel better. Slightly better.

She stepped towards the middle one and examined her surroundings. The opposite platform on the far-left side was empty, while the far one on the right had a trainer. Her direct opposite was where she needed to go, but she wanted to fight the trainer first to get an idea of what she could face at the end.

So, she stepped on the middle spider, after returning her Toto to its pokéball for safety reasons. The spinarak kart moved across the different rails until it reached its destination. Lyra jumped off and prepared to face off against AI. She called out her first pokémon, Starly.

AI smirked. “You think you’ll win just because you have a bird? Think again, trainer.”

 _So many cocky trainers. Looks like I must put another trainer in their rightful place,_ she thought. AI summoned his first pokémon which was a caterpie. Lyra felt the urge to laugh. How could such a cute looking caterpillar beat a bird? She pointed a finger at the caterpie and issued her first command. “Starly, use Wing Attack!”

Having a type advantage gave Starly extra attacking power and the caterpie was knocked out before it could retaliate. The trainer’s smirk faded, eyes growing wide. He wiped a few beads of sweat away and called out his next pokémon. This one also looked like a caterpillar only it was brown and equipped with a two-inch singer on its head and tail. She pulled out her pokédex for answers.

_Weedle. Its poison stinger is immensely powerful. Its bright-coloured body is intended to warn off its enemies._

“Starly, use Wing Attack again!”

Flapping her wings Starly summoned two small funnels of feathers and directed them towards the Weedle. As with the caterpie, the bug pokémon was at a huge disadvantage. The weedle was knocked out before it could attack. _This is rather easy,_ Lyra thought. Surely, this couldn’t be it? She’d steamroll this gym at the rate.

“My precious bug pokémon!” AI wept, dropping to his knees, cradling his fainted pokémon.

Lyra turned away and hopped back on the kart and returned to her original starting point. This time, she took the kart on the far left. This one would take her to the opposite middle platform. Fortunately, the ride was a short one. Lyra hopped off, walked forwards and soon found herself facing the next trainer, Benny. 

“I will show you the power of bug pokémon!” the boy declared, summoning his first one. A weedle appeared.

Instead of using her Starly, Lyra summoned Bagon. Bagon was still inexperienced. Fighting against weak bug pokémon seemed like a good way to help the pokémon grow stronger. “Bagon, use Bite!” Bagon jumped forward, clamping his jaws around the weedle.

The weedle fought hard to free itself from Bagon’s jaws and somehow managed to escape. “Weedle, use Poison Sting!” Weedle jumped forward, head butting Bagon underneath the chin, driving its stinger deep. Bagon hissed and fought back, throwing the weedle off. Fortunately, the weedle’s stinger had not gotten too far in to cause poisoning.

“Bagon, use Bite again!” Bagon lunged forward and once again clamped its jaws around the weedle’s frail body. Weedle tried to free itself, but this time failed to escape. Bagon shook its head left and right then left again, releasing the weedle at the third shake. Weedle fell to the ground, unconscious.

Benny brought out his second pokémon. A funny looking yellow cocoon appeared. Its pitch-black eyes were quite large for its body size. Unlike the caterpie, this one was rather freaky to look at, but didn’t look that strong either. Once again, Lyra brought out her pokédex to obtain additional information.

_Kakuna. The evolved form of weedle. Although it is a cocoon, it can move a little. It can extend its poison barb if it is attacked._

“Bagon, use Bite!”

“Kakuna, use Harden!”

Kakuna was the first to move. The pokémon did not attack, but temporarily changed to a silver colour. Lyra had a feeling it had somehow improved its defence meaning it would be harder to bring down. Bagon attacked. He tried to bite down on the kakuna, but the pokémon’s improved defences made it difficult for Bagon’s attack to be effective.

Lyra recalled Bagon and swapped it out for Starly. “Starly, use Wing Attack!” Starly flapped, conjuring up two small funnels. The mini funnels struck the bug pokémon hard, causing it to faint.

The boy kicked the ground, spitting at the floor. “You are fairly good to take down my two pokémon, but you won’t past my third. Beedrill!”

Beedrill caught Lyra by surprise. She expected a caterpie or another weedle, but instead she faced a wasp. It looked down at her now, large red eyes glaring down at her.

Beedrill waved its two long, conical stingers at her and buzzed. “Beedrill, use Fury Attack!” The beedrill buzzed again, much louder this time, drowning out any other noise. It flew up into the air, raised its two stingers, and flew towards Starly.

The stingers struck Starly several times over, each one inflicting a small percentage of damage. Fortunately, Starly didn’t seem that affected by it, and flapped back into the air, circling the wasp. “Starly, finish that beedrill off with a Wing Attack!” Using the same move repeatedly wasn’t the best strategy, but it sure was effective. Besides, her pokémon didn’t know enough moves yet to develop a strategy so for now, hitting hard and fast was the most efficient way to win a tough battle.

Although Beedrill looked menacing, it was quickly taken down. “I can’t believe it!” the boy exclaimed, jaw agape. “You defeated my bug pokémon.”

Lyra just shrugged. What else could she say? She continued past the boy until she reached another spinarak kart. The rails she had to cross were more complex than the section she had just passed. They also had different colours – grey, red, and blue. She could see four trainers standing on the opposite side. On the far left, she spotted a blue switch next to two twin girls, and on the far right, a lone bug trainer. She couldn’t see any signs of a red switch and she suspected it was on her side. Probably opposite to the twins, she thought.

The trainer in the middle looked back at her from across the gaping hole, giving Lyra a mocking grin. He was short; probably about the same height as herself. He also had an eccentric hair colour much like Falkner. Falkner had blue hair, and this guy had purple hair. Lyra began to wonder if the other trainers in Johto all had unnatural coloured hair. _Now how do I get across,_ she thought, looking around.

Unlike the previous section, there was only one kart. Lyra figured she had to use the switches to steer her into the right section, but first she needed to battle the other gym trainers. She flipped the blue switch on and moved onto the spinarak kart. The kart moved, crossed over the first right beam, and moved upwards towards the bug trainer. She climbed off and prepared to battle again.

She caught a glimpse of his nametag. Josh. “Can you work out how to use the switches to reach Bugsy?” The boy threw out his pokéball and Lyra did the same. She summoned Starly. An orange insect appeared. It peered up at Lyra with big wide eyes. It almost looked cute.

_Paras. It is doused with mushroom spores when it is born. As its body grows, mushrooms sprout from its back._

_Having a mushroom growing out of your back sounded like an annoyance,_ Lyra thought. But having a mushroom wasn’t going to make its defences stronger. “Starly, use Wing Attack!”

Another critical blow and another pokémon down. Her team was doing quite well – not one of her pokémon had suffered a major blow and there were only two trainers left before the gym leader. She ignored the boy’s complaints and hopped back onto the kart. The kart took her back to her previous position. This time, she turned the blue switch on again making the blue railing available to cross.

She hopped back onto the kart and followed the same route she had taken to reach the boy, but this time she crossed the blue railing. The kart moved to the left, crossing over onto the red railing which brought her to the identical twins. Amy and May.

The girls traded smiles. “If you can defeat us then you’re strong enough to take on the leader!” Together, the girls threw their pokéballs.

“Ledyba!”

“Spinarak!”

Two more new bug pokémon. The ledyba reminded her of a ladybeetle while the spinarak looked exactly the karts she had been using to get across. Even though she knew what their names were now, she still wanted to obtain information.

_Ledyba. It is very timid. It will be afraid to move if it is alone. But it will be active if it is in a group._

_Spinarak. It lies still in the same pose for days in its web, waiting for its unsuspecting prey to wander close._

Lyra put her pokédex away and summoned Starly and Gible to take the battle. “Gible, use Dragon Rage! Starly, use Wing Attack!”

Together, her pokémon attacked their opponents. Dragon Rage wiped out ledyba and Starly’s Wing Attack took out spinarak within seconds. This gym had been ridiculously easy so far. She was beginning to wonder if the gym leader was even going to be a challenge. The twins started to cry. Lyra moved quickly, flicking the blue switch besides the twins on.

She hopped back onto the spinarak kart and moved towards her direct opposite side where the red switch was. Fortunately, there were no trainers on this side. She flipped it on and hopped on the kart again and moved towards the gym leader. Having turned on and off the correct switches, the path to the gym leader had become available.

The boy jumped into the air, waving his bug net around. He settled and pointed the net at her. “I’m Bugsy! I never lose when it comes to bug-type pokémon. My research is going to make me an authority on bug-type pokémon! Let me demonstrate what I’ve learnt from my studies.”

Was the boy stronger than he looked? This could be another one of those, ‘looks can be deceiving cases’. She took in a deep breath and braced herself for a tough fight.


	10. Bugged Out

The battle had already commenced. Bugsy had immediately quashed all her beliefs that bug pokémon were weak when his scyther appeared on the field. It was truly an intimidating pokémon, with blade-like forearms that were capable of slicing through logs. The arms reminded her of a scythe. She did not look forward to her pokémon being on the receiving end of those blades.

Bugsy lifted a finger and pointed it at Lyra, flicking a strand of hair away from his face. If Lyra didn’t already know Bugsy was a guy, she would’ve assumed Bugsy was a girl. “Many people say that bug-type pokémon are weak. I’m here to prove to you that bug-types can handle anything. Give it your best shot, trainer… but don’t come crying to me after you lose. Scyther, use U-Turn!”

Faster than the human eye could see, Scyther struck hard and fast, throwing itself into a ball. It struck Starly hard, almost knocking the avian over. Lyra knew Starly wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack like that again. Scyther returned to its pokéball and was immediately replaced by a kakuna. Lifting an eyebrow, Lyra looked at Bugsy for an explanation.

“A pokémon that uses U-Turn returns to its trainer. That’s too bad for you and Starly, but good news for me.”

Well, at least it was only a kakuna and not another scyther. “Starly, use Wing Attack!” Fortunately for Lyra’s sake, Bugsy’s kakuna was laughably weak. It was not much stronger than the other kakunas she had faced. Bugsy didn’t even show any concern when his kakuna fainted – it was as if he expected that to happen. Once Kakuna fainted, Bugsy called out his Scyther again.

 _Dammit,_ thought Lyra. Starly couldn’t survive another attack – she had to change or lose her one real weapon against the super bug. She swapped out Starly for Toto, hoping to rely on the reptile’s heavy bulk.

“Scyther, use Quick Attack!”

Scyther slammed into Croconaw, causing the reptile to stumble backwards. Fortunately, Toto was sturdy enough to remain on its feet. “Toto, use Bite!” Scyther used Quick Attack, striking Lyra’s pokémon hard. Croconaw was hanging on by a mere thread. _Come on, Toto_ , Lyra silently hoped.

Croconaw lunged forward and bit down on one of Scyther’s arms. The opponent’s pokémon fought back, using its other forearm to free itself from Croconaw’s grip. A hiss of pain left Croconaw’s mouth as Scyther removed its arm. “Scyther, use U-Turn!”

 _Not again,_ Lyra thought. The attack was powerful enough to cause Croconaw to faint. Her heartbeat raced, sweat beads beginning to form on her forehead. Using the back palm of her hand, she wiped the beads away, but the nerves were still there. How could she defeat something that moved so damn fast? A strange looking green shell replaced Scyther. Lyra used her pokédex to obtain information.

_Metapod. The evolved form of caterpie. Inside the shell, it is soft and weak as it prepares to evolve. It stays motionless in the shell._

It didn’t look intimidating at all which proved to Lyra, Bugsy’s metapod and kakuna were shields for Scyther. Now if only she could take that bug down…

“Starly!” She brought back her trusty avian to the field. “Wing Attack!” At least this time she managed to land an attack first. The metapod fainted. Starly flapped to the ground and froze. Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Starly?” she repeated.

Starly closed her eyes and sat on the floor, as if it were sitting on a nest. She tucked her head under her wings and started to vibrate. A while glow emanated from her as the pokémon continued to shake. Having seen this before with her Totodile, Lyra wasn’t frightened, but she was still concerned. Did the pokémon feel pain when it evolved?

A few seconds later a much larger version of Starly stood before her. The avian’s feathers were still the same colour, only they were longer. The bird also looked less cute than her baby version, sacrificing cuteness for a more mature look. The tuft of feathers on the bird’s head curved forward, now twice if it had been before.

_Staravia. The evolved form of Starly. They flock around mountains and fields, chasing after bug pokémon._

Lyra couldn’t help but think the kakuna and metapod had possibly won the battle for her, giving her Starly the experience it needed to evolve. Now Staravia was faster and stronger – possibly strong enough to defeat Scyther with one lucky hit. According to her pokédex, Staravia could learn a new move – Double Team, which increased the pokémon’s evasion ability.

But for Staravia to learn it, she needed to forget another. Double Team could potentially win her the battle if luck were on her side, but what move to sacrifice? Tackle? Quick Attack? Wing Attack? Growl, the move she never used? There wasn’t much time to think about it. She decided to forget Growl. “Staravia, forget Growl. Learn Double Team.”

Professor Elm had mentioned earlier on pokémon could be commanded to forget moves when evolving. All she had to do was touch her pokéball against her pokédex and two screens would come up. One screen had details about current moves and the other about moves her pokémon could learn currently.

It was a difficult process to understand, but she suspected that every pokémon knew their moves. They just had to be at a certain level to be able to use it. Staravia nodded and began to glow a deep shade of red then jumped into the air, circling high above Scyther.

“So, your pokémon evolved. It still won’t be strong enough to defeat Scyther. Even though it’s my last pokémon, bug pokémon are tough! Scyther, use Quick Attack!” Scyther dashed forward, moving so fast it was just a blur to Lyra’s eyes. But to Staravia’s eyes, Scyther might as well have been walking. The avian evaded the attack and retaliated with a Wing Attack which did major damage to the speedy bug.

Scyther took a few steps backwards, hunched over panting. Bugsy looked worried now. Lyra caught him wiping sweat beads of his forehead. “Hang in there! Just a little more!” he cried out. Scyther stood up straight, but Lyra could see the noticeable signs of exhaustion in the pokémon’s eyes and forced posture. Just one more hit, she thought. “Scyther, use U-Turn!”

Curling itself up into a ball, Scyther threw itself forward. “Staravia, counter-attack with Wing Attack!” At least Scyther couldn’t swap out with another pokémon this time, leaving it vulnerable. Scyther’s attack hit hard still despite it being in quite a weakened state. Fortunately, Staravia managed to withstand the blow. If she hadn’t evolved Lyra knew the avian would’ve fainted.

Scyther returned to its position. Staravia counter-attacked. As Lyra had expected, her attack was enough to take down Scyther thus winning her the match. Scyther remained still, swaying slightly then fell forward landing face-first. Lyra jumped into the air. “I did it!” she cheered. Staravia stretched her wings out and danced around in a circle.

Bugsy retrieved his fainted Scyther, said something Lyra’s ears didn’t catch then hurried over to congratulate Lyra on winning the battle. “Whoa, amazing! You’re an expert on pokémon! My research isn’t complete yet. Ok, you win. Take this badge.” He reached down into the pockets of his shorts and handed Lyra a red and black circular badge. It looked a bit like a ledyba’s back now that Lyra thought about it. The badge had three black dots and a mostly red background except for the top which was also black.

“Thanks,” she said, adding the badge to her growing collection.

“Do you know the benefits of the Hive Badge? If you have a pokémon that knows Cut, you will be able to use it outside of battle too. Here, I also want you to have this.” He reached down into a different pocket and pulled out a small bottle of greenish liquid. “This contains U-turn. It lets your pokémon attack then switches with the next pokémon in your party. Isn’t that great? Bug-type pokémon are deep. There are many mysteries to explore. Study your top choices thoroughly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lyra replied, giving the leader a handshake.

“I know you’ll go far. Your next stop should be Goldenrod City. To get there you must travel through Ilex Forest. You’ll need Cut though, so make sure one of your pokémon knows the move.” He waved his goodbyes as Lyra hopped back onto a spinarak kart. Two gyms down and only six more to go. She exited the gym.

Lyra wasn’t exactly sure where to find the move Cut – none of her pokémon could learn it. It was odd that she had to teach her pokémon how to use a move that should naturally come to them, but she supposed pokémon had to be trained to use them effectively in the right moments. She headed inside the local pokémart.

“Oh, you look like you’ve just won a battle!” The cashier said.

Lyra nodded. “That’s correct. I defeated Bugsy.”

“That means you’ll be heading through Ilex City. You’ll need Cut.”

“Where do I get that?”

“From the Charcoal Man. If he’s not at home, then he’ll be somewhere near the forest entrance. Good luck, trainer!” The woman waved.

There wasn’t anything else she could do here, so she exited the store and headed towards the pokémon centre. As she approached the building, a lady wearing a kimono dress stepped through the door. She did not look like the other lady she had seen in the Slowpoke Well, although the girls did share similar features. Black hair tied up in a bun, the same eye shape, the same jaw structure…

“You defeated your second gym leader… I thought you might have gotten lucky getting past Falkner… but defeating Bugsy as well…” The kimono girl rubbed her jaw, looking Lyra up and down. “Such dedication… such skill for one so inexperienced… Is it possible?”

“What are you talking about?”

The kimono girl ignored her. “A pure heart… perhaps… she is the one…” A soft smile crossed her face. “We will meet again.”

Before Lyra could ask any more questions, the kimono girl walked away. _Weird,_ thought Lyra. That was the second kimono girl that approached her in the same strange manner, as if she were special or something. Pushing her thoughts aside, Lyra entered the pokémart.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed since Lyra had entered the pokémart. It was amazing how quickly time flew by when shopping for items. Lyra purchased ten potions, a couple of status healing potions and a few more pokéballs and placed them in her bag. Her bag was so full now she could barely fit it on her back. The mysterious pokémon egg was still in there. She thought about storing it in her pokémon storage box at the pokémon centre, but it didn’t feel right parting with it.

Exiting the building, she stepped back outside and took in a deep breath. Bugsy had mentioned Goldenrod City was her next destination and to get there she needed to pass through Ilex Forest. The cashier had said the man would be hiding somewhere near the forest entrance if he wasn’t at home.

Stomach muscles knotted Lyra approached the forest entrance. Stopping at the boundary, she arched her neck back and gazed at the entrance. The forests near New Bark Town were lively and full of birdsong, but not a single melodic song could be heard. A chill spread through her body. What kind of creepy pokémon lived in here?

Taking in another mouthful of air to calm her nerves, Lyra stepped inside the forest, her loyal band of three pokémon tagging behind her. Gible remained in her pokéball this time – she couldn’t afford to lose such a precious pokémon inside the forest again. Croconaw and Bagon flanked her sides while Staravia remained a few steps ahead. The pokémon’s sharp eyes were needed in this situation.

Sweat beads formed on her head. The humidity of the forest was unbelievable. She felt as if she had just taken a really steaming hot bath. Her clothes clung to her skin, as if they had suddenly become a part of her body. Disgusting. What she wouldn’t give for nice cool bath right now… As she ventured further into the forest, she couldn’t shake off the feeling she was being watched. Every few steps she would stop to dart her eyes at a nearby bush or tree, as if expecting an ambush of some sort. Beady little eyes peered at her through the vegetation. Not human eyes fortunately, but eyes belonging to various bug-type pokémon.

“Oh no, this is such a disaster! The boss is going to be so mad when he finds out!”

The distraught voice of an anxious man caught Lyra’s attention. Someone was in trouble. Following the source of the voice, she walked ahead ignoring the peering at her. There was a man dressed in a white coat pacing back and forth, muttering. “Can I help you?” Lyra said, stepping forward with great caution.

The man stopped, turned around and rushed over to her. “You… you are a trainer! Please help me! I was supposed to be taking my boss’s farfetch’d for a stroll in the woods, but they got spooked and they ran away before I could do anything! You must help me find them, please!” he begged, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Well, that was a little irresponsible, she thought. “How can I help?”

“The farfetch’d are roaming around the forest. You just must approach them from behind and throw their pokéballs at them. But make sure you come from behind – they get spooked easily and if see they see you coming, they will run deeper into the forest,” the man said, giving Lyra two pokéballs. “Please don’t take too long. I don’t want to be here when the sun comes down.” A visible shudder raced down his spine.

That was understandable. Lyra didn’t want to be stuck here in Ilex Forest at night either. “All right, I’ll do my best.”

The man smiled. “Thank you so much! You won’t regret this.”

“Before I go, can you tell me what they look like?”

“You won’t miss them. They’re the only two birds in the forest.”

She thanked him again. Moving away from the panicking man, Lyra walked further into the forest, cautiously navigating through the undergrowth. Cobwebs surrounded her, hanging down from many low branches. Walking into one wasn’t something she wanted to experience so she made sure she walked slowly.

There! Up head! A tiny brown avian! The bird pokémon was sitting on the grass, holding a miniature stick in its right wing. Lyra crept towards it, after telling her pokémon to remain in place. “Please stay still,” she whispered, clutching the pokéball in her hand. The bird seemed unaware of her presence, seeming more fascinated by its stick.

She crept closer still, now only a few metres away from the oblivious bird. Raising her hand, she pulled back her arm then brought it forward, releasing the ball. The ball sailed through the air and hit the bird’s back then bounced off, lying on the ground, the farfetch’d back inside. _That was relatively easy,_ she thought.

Venturing deeper into the forest, Lyra was surprised to find this section was more active than the previous area. It was also much darker, but no dark she felt like she was in the Dark Cave again. She spotted spinaraks running across branches, crossing the joint webs between different trees. A group of caterpie were battling against a group of weedle over some fallen leaves. Metapod and kakuna hung down from branches, unmoving. She even spotted a few zubat hanging from some of trees choked by thick vines.

She kept moving forward paying attention to the large amounts of pokémon around her. It was tempting to catch a few, but there were so many present that she worried she’d anger the entire forest population. Bagon and Croconaw walked over to a fallen tree to investigate a fallen kakuna. Lyra followed closely behind a little more cautiously than her pokémon. Gible shook in his pokéball, eager to get out.

Reaching down to her belt, she pulled out Gible’s pokéball and looked down at it. “Promise you won’t be naughty, all right?” The pokéball shook again. It was a risk releasing Gible into such a risky forest but keeping him inside while the others got to roam free was unfair. She summoned Gible. Gible immediately ran over to join his other friends.

Croconaw touched the fallen kakuna with his tail. Gible prodded it with his stubby little arms. Bagon sniffed the kakuna and pushed it with its nose. The kakuna did not move at. Was it even still alive? Or had it somehow gotten injured when the tree had fallen? Lyra walked over to the tree, stopping a few feet away from it. There was an opening in the trunk where the kakuna had fallen. She dropped to her knees and peered inside, coming face to face with a paras.

A paras could learn Cut. It had the pincers. “Bagon, use Bite!” Bagon jumped forward to attack the paras, but Gible attacked, pushing the other baby dragon out of the way. The paras winced as it was struck and hid deeper into the trunk. Gible stuck its head in the trunk, trying to get at the Paras.

“Gible!”

Once Gible heard his name, he stopped moving. He tried to pull himself out but found he couldn’t. His massive jaw had gotten stuck in the smaller hole. Gible panicked and frantically started to move. Gible repeated his name several times over, becoming more agitated with each passing second. Lyra placed her arms around Gible’s waist and did her best to pull him out. Noticing Lyra’s struggle, Croconaw and Bagon assisted, tugging Lyra back.

She clenched her teeth, planting her feet firmly into the ground, pulling with all her might. Eventually, their combined effort freed the Gible from its stuck position. They tumbled backwards onto the grass. “Gible!” Lyra scolded, glaring at her sulky dragon. Gible lowered his head, sulking. “How can I let you out of your pokéball if you get yourself into situations like that?” she added, in a gentler tone.

The disciplinary session came to an abrupt halt. In the corner of her eye she spotted the fallen kakuna shaking back and forth. Evolution time. She glanced up and spotted some of the other kakunas shaking. “Run!” she exclaimed sprinting forward, stopping only once to ensure her pokémon were following behind her. They were. The paras that had been hiding was also on the run. It was injured, so it was fleeing at a much slower pace.

Lyra stopped, turned back, and threw a pokéball at the paras. The ball rocked to the left, then right then to the left again and paused for three seconds. The paras remained inside. There was no time for celebration though - she could hear angry beedrills in the background. She continued heading forward until she heard some soft chirping sounds.

It just had to be another farfetch’d. The avian glanced back in her direction, prompting Lyra to duck behind a bush. Parting the leaves, Lyra peered through the open hole, spying on the farfetch’d. The pokémon was looking in a different direction now. Slowly, she rose from behind the bushes, fingers clasping the farfetch’d pokéball. She counted to three seconds before throwing the ball.

The farfetch’d returned to its pokéball. Lyra sighed with relief. Thank goodness for that, she thought. She back tracked her steps, returning to the place where the kakuna had fallen. There were no beedrills around anymore, but she knew they were there somewhere in the forest, searching for the trainer that had disrupted their peace. Without wasting more time, she continued retracing her steps until she found the man who had lost the farfetch’d. “I found the farfetch’d,” she said, returning the balls to the man.

He took them back eagerly, throwing them both onto the ground, summoning the two birds. “You actually managed to find them… thank you so much for doing this! Oh, here is the boss!”

Another adult man walked towards her, wearing a round sun hat. “Ah, my farfetch’d. I take it you lost them again?” he said, glancing at the other man’s relieved expression. “Never mind. The important thing is that this trainer found them. For your efforts, I want to give you this move, Cut. Teach it to one of your pokémon and you’ll be able to cut down the stubborn vines blocking the path to Goldenrod. Thanks again! You did me a real favour!” The two men left, retreating to Azalea Town.

Lyra was pleased she was able to move forward now and put this behind her. She summoned her paras and gave the pokémon the potion containing Cut. The pokémon lapped it up eagerly, seeming to enjoy the taste. “You’re local to this forest. Could you lead us to the vines?” Paras nodded and headed back towards the fallen tree. There were still no signs of the beedrill around, so they continued moving forwards, returning to where the second farfetch’d was.

Paras veered to the left, then moved north towards a mass clump of vines blocking a path. “Okay, Paras. Use Cut on those vines!” Lyra ordered.

Her new pokémon leapt forward, snipping the vines with its pincers. It didn’t take long for the Paras to cut down all the vines allowing Lyra and her other pokémon to move through. Once they reached the other side, Lyra found another kimono girl standing a few feet away. The lady was walking around in circles, murmuring to herself, a troubled expression on her delicate face.

“Do you need any help?” Lyra called out.

The lady turned around. “Oh, a pokémon trainer! I was taking a stroll through the forest and I accidentally took a wrong turn. I do not know which direction to take to leave this place. Do you know where to go?”

Lyra shook her head. “I’ve never been here before,” she admitted.

“Then we are both lost.” Paras waved its pincers in the air. The kimono girl looked down with raised eyebrows. “Oh? What’s this? You know where the exit is? What a smart pokémon!” she gushed. Paras led the kimono girl to the furthest path on the left, Lyra following close behind. “You were willing to show a stranger the way out of the forest… what kindness… will it be enough though?”

“I don’t understand what you are talking about,” Lyra said.

“All will be explained in due time, dear girl. But I must depart this place and seek out my sisters. Thank you again for your kindness.” She bowed gracefully and left the forest. Lyra was quite prepared to leave herself when she saw a mass group of trees shaking nearby. She decided to investigate.

It wasn’t a pokémon causing the trees to shake; in fact, it was a rather solid man shaking them, simply by ramming into the tree with his head. What the heck? Lyra thought, rushing over to check if the man was all right. Perhaps he was mad? “What are you doing?” she called out.

The man looked up, wiped his mouth with the back palm of his hand, and gave her a cheeky grin. “It’s a move called Headbutt. It’s a great move that has uses both during and outside battle. If you see a pokémon hiding up in a tree, use Headbutt and it’ll fall so you can capture it. Here, show me one of your pokémon and I’ll teach it the move.”

Well, that sounded like a useful move. “I would like you to teach Bagon.” Bagon needed another decent move aside from Bite anyway.

“All right then, just give him this potion and your Bagon will know how to use Headbutt in its next battle! If you have any other pokémon you’d like to learn this move, come back and see me!” He rammed into the tree again. Lyra shook her head and moved away, heading towards the exit. Some people were just plain crazy.


End file.
